Fallen Prince
by 4waterdragon27
Summary: "They weren't sealed, so they can't be released. They weren't broken, so they can't be fixed. That which is lost, cannot be recovered, but through every struggle there is always a key. If there's a key, then there must be a door. What happens when you open it? Will this world, the world I know as 'real' be nothing more than an illusion? Just a cruel dream..." - Uzumaki D. Naruto.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Fallen Prince**

 **Chapter One**

 _Prologue_

 _It was strange._

 _That was the only way Naruto could define the object in front of him. He could easily say it was the strangest thing he has ever seen in his entire life._

 _It was a fruit._

 _That much he could confirm. It was oval in shape and was ice white, not a splash of color besides white. Pure, innocent white. There were no curves or bumps on it, it was as smooth and glossy as an emerald. Naruto would've left it at that, with a simple thought of it being 'just a fruit' if it wasn't for one thing._

 _"Ah, it's happening."_

 _The fruit changed form. It wasn't in a figurative sense like he saw it in a different way, it literally changed form. It lost the shape of a fruit in all dimensions, height, width, volume, mass, and became pure...energy? It swirled in the air, hovering above where the fruit was originally situated. It danced, covering the sky itself and then it grew stormy in both a figurative and literal sense. The white became a mash of mist, storms, clouds, lightning, rain, before eventually resting in its normal sky white blue before descending and becoming a fruit once more._

 _He watched it repeat over and over again, his intrigue growing with every second that passed. His mind couldn't wrap around the object he was seeing. Fruits don't do things like this. They don't hover, they don't change shape, and, most importantly, they don't become the sky! He didn't know how much time has passed, was it moments or hours? He felt his chin just to check if he grew a beard and sighed in relief. It wouldn't do so well if he stayed here for years. And as he contemplated how much time has passed, his body made him aware of the painstaking hunger that was now being felt across his whole body in the form of a rumble. It was begging, pleading, commanding him to consume the edible fruit before him._

 _He slowly stood up, his body making audible cracking sounds as he stretched his body. Cracking his neck and knuckles, a fox-like grin made its way on his face._

" _It's a fruit. It's food. I eat food. It may not be orange, but white isn't a bad color."_

 _Naruto stepped towards the fruit, but he wasn't nervous. There wasn't a bead of sweat on his hands or any actions that could give away his nerves. None of this happened because he was calm. The fruit was calling out to him, begging him to be devoured. As if it was made for him, and only him, to consume it. Not a single thought of this being a bad idea hit Naruto as he walked towards the fruit that was whispering to him._

 _The energy was in front of him again, mere inches away from his face, and he felt his hand move towards the fruit, intent on consuming it to please his growing hunger. His eyes looked at the fruit in front of him, it called him, beckoned him forth, and Naruto didn't resist. His hand grasped the energy, surprising him momentarily as the energy slowly turned back into the ice white fruit. Not wasting a second, he slowly brought it towards his mouth._

" _If I die from this...then that's just too bad."_

 _And then swallowed the fruit whole._

 _Then, for the second time today, he felt unbearable pain._

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **3 Years Later**

 **Present**

"Monkey D. Luffy," A single ice blue eye opened from within the confines of the shadows produced by his bangs, "I've finally found you."

They all looked at him with a mix of emotions, shock, awe, fear, and horror, as the man's-he believed they called him Mr. 5-body slowly fell off his hand and towards the ground. His right hand was painted crimson due to his previous action: stabbing his right hand through Mr. 5's heart. Electricity danced down his right arm and swirled around his body as his eyes locked onto the form he's been looking for these past few days.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Sparks flew off his body as his eyes locked with Luffy's, "Finally...I've been searching for you for quite a while." He slowly raised his right arm and pointed it in Luffy's direction, "I suppose, I'll start with this."

The electricity seemed to focus around his right arm and danced around his arm in an erratic manner. It went faster and faster until his arm glowed an electric blue and the sparks soon ceased to fly. A deadly hum in the air was the only thing that kept the area from complete silence as Naruto looked at Luffy, and only Luffy. The moment ended and he brought his hand back, tightening it into a fist as if he was about to throw a punch.

He whispered, " **Raijin."**

He punched forward and his arm exploded with electricity in the form of a gigantic dragon head, easily bigger than the surrounding trees. It launched off of his arm and extended into the form of a dragon with no wings, looking very much like a snake with a dragon's head, which headed straight toward Luffy and his crew. They didn't even have a chance to move, to even attempt to dodge the opposing _lightning_ fast attack before it hit them.

And the area was drowned in a blinding light.

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **One Week Before**

"I've called you here today for one simple reason," A rough voice spoke out, easily audible to even the back ends of the room. A fist slammed into the sole paper behind him, "Monkey D. Luffy of the East Blue."

It was silent and controlled for a few precious moments, but that eventually broke in a rare case of shock which affected the entire room. Three men in different colored pinstripe suits stood in front of them with huge cloaks-looking more like capes than cloaks-hanging over their shoulders. They stood still, not moving a muscle, they simply watched the men before them, not even bothering with doing crowd control. They'd let the surprise run its course until they were calm once again. Afterall, the soldiers they were talking to were _their_ men and they wouldn't have anyone but the best.

One of the many Marine Captains in the room stood up and saluted, "Forgive my disrespect, Vice Admiral Stainless-sama! But isn't he from the East Blue...They're known for producing the weakest pirates, I can't even remember the last notable pirate that came from that sea."

This time Stainless-the man with combed back black hair and a handlebar mustache-didn't speak, but, instead, a dark-skinned man with gray hair, "Monkey D. Luffy is dangerous." He spoke calmly, "He just started his Pirate career and he has already made a name for himself. He defeated Kuro of a Hundred Plans, he defeated Don Krieg, worth 15,000,000 and a man with a whole fleet under his control, and, finally, he defeated Arlong who is worth 20,000,000 berries and was seen as the strongest pirate in the East Blue. Arlong was a member of the Sun Pirates and sworn brother to Tiger and Jinbei of the Shichibukai. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised he didn't have a higher bounty, but it doesn't matter now since he is dead. In any case, it is obvious that Monkey D. Luffy is a serious case and has been given a 30,000,000 berrie bounty for a good reason! He is now the strongest man in the East Blue!"

The whispers slowly died out until there was only a chilling calm left in the room. Thoughts were racing through their minds, if he was as dangerous as the Vice Admirals were saying then it was definitely the correct choice to be wary of him.

Afterall, Gol D. Roger was a man from the East Blue as well and he became _the_ legend.

They were ripped out of their thoughts when the last man-a man with slicked-back black hair, sunglasses, and wearing a brown suit with a cigar in his mouth-stepped forward and spoke, "Let's not forget about the most recent event in Loguetown. Straw Hat is the third pirate to ever evade capture and actually reach the Grand Line. He escaped Captain Smoker, the White Hunter, the man who consumed a Logia Fruit which is _perfect_ for capture and detainment. Smoker is a powerful man, I expect him to join our ranks," He waved his hand at his fellow Vice Admirals to indicate that he was talking about their rank, "Someday in the future. In any case, Monkey D. Luffy is not a Pirate we should dismiss so easily. He's a rookie, but letting him go could be a huge mistake on our side. Who knows how big of a threat he'll be in the future!"

A few simple words caused the whispers to return, but, this time, it was for a good reason. Everyone knew of Smoker, he was a respected, powerful, individual that was quickly moving up the ranks due to his prowess. He _never_ let a pirate leave his territory, so for a Pirate to actually _evade_ him was worth acknowledging. They shuddered at the thought of the last two pirates before completely ridding their thoughts of them. It wouldn't do any good to think of them. Changing their train of thought, they moved back to Strawhat. He was dangerous. Especially if the rumors of what Monkey D. Luffy did before he was about to die…

He smiled. Like Gol D. Roger.

The Captain that was standing up quickly saluted the three men in front of him, "I understand now! Thank you, Vice Admiral Stainless-sama, Vice Admiral Cancer-sama, and Vice Admiral Mozambia-sama!" He returned to his seat and looked forward, along with all the other Marines in the crowd, at the powerful figures before them with nothing, but absolute respect in their eyes.

Vice Admiral Cancer nodded at the crowd before speaking once more, "I have a bad feeling about that rookie. Especially after the Loguetown incident, for all of you who don't know, Monkey D. Luffy _grinned_ before he was about to die. Just like Gol D. Roger." Even the men who knew this in the crowd couldn't help the shiver that ran down their spines at hearing this, "My instincts are screaming at me that he will be _dangerous._ This is why we-Three Vice Admirals-are gathered here today. We have all agreed that letting him go _could_ be the worst mistake we've ever made and, as such, we are organizing the hunt to bring him _down._ "

It was a darkening silence.

Every single Marine in the room simply watched the Vice Admirals with nothing but absolute obedience. Their eyes held not even a bit of disgust at discussing the fate of a life so easily, it was as if they were talking about what they were going to eat for dinner. Their thought process was simple, If the Vice Admirals, themselves, wanted it, then they would do it. The Vice Admiral's words were law. They would carry out their orders no matter what, especially if it meant killing some no-good pirates.

He scoffed.

" _Marines are good. Pirates are bad."_

Those were the words whispered into their ears as a child for every single day of their lives. As kids, they were brought up hearing that pirates are 'evil'. That they were devils in disguise, that under no circumstances should they talk or even attempt to get along with them, instead, they should hate and report them to the marines who were 'good'. These words, whispered sweetly by their parents into their ears every night of every year, has been entwined with their mind.

Rape is evil.

A moral that has been shoved into everyone's mind since they were a child is why Pirates, in general, uncaring of what or who they actually are, are hated by society. Those cursed words whispered by Marines, Parents, and the world, into their children's' heads became a _moral,_ a value to hold onto until they die. It wasn't something he could get rid of without crushing their very mind, their very personality. 'Rape is _evil'. '_ Pirates are _evil'._ These phrases hold the same value to the Marines. The biased hatred of all Pirates-even if they are good-created a moral that every Marine holds close to their heart.

What makes a moral? If enough people believe it, will it be seen as the truth? Will it become a moral held by everyone? If people believe killing is good, then does that make it a principal held by the entire world? Does that make it right? In a world such as this, in a world that accepts killing as a natural course of action, can we even have morals? And if so, what makes it right or wrong? Is it right being the majority of the people believe it to be so?

No.

Those thoughts quickly left his mind when the Vice Admiral spoke, "Any questions before we start."

"Yes," His voice, silky smooth like the devil himself, entered the conversation, "Where is Strawhat Luffy now?"

The moment the voice made itself apparent, many things happened at once. First every pair of eyes in the room shot behind the Vice Admirals while the Vice Admirals, themselves, immediately jumped away from their current position, easily reaching the other side of the room. Secondly, everyone became aware of the presence that was now bearing down on every person in the room, hell, the whole building probably felt it. The moment the Vice Admirals reached the other side of the room-which took less than a second-they brought their powerful gazes at the man whom, just a moment before, stood right behind them. Every Marine in the room analysed the individual that snuck into an important meeting and, most importantly, stayed _undetected_ while in the presence of three Marine Vice Admirals...

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Three Years Before** ( **Continuation)**

 _The pain was blinding._

 _A soundless scream pierced the air, raising more terror than if one could hear it. He could briefly see the surrounding blurs moving around, people perhaps? While he couldn't confirm their identities, he could confirm their fear. Their absolute terror as he silently screamed on his knees, tearing at his throat. He felt cuts appear on his body in an uncontrollable matter as if his blood was replaced with the sharp edges of the wind._

 _He should've felt terror. Terror from the uncontrollable actions of his body, but, no, instead, he felt good for the first time in years. It hurt, yes, but he felt so...alive. His mind couldn't help but ponder the idea that he has become a masochist before he spat out blood._

 _Internal bleeding?_

 _His eyes hurt. His arms hurt. His entire fucking body hurt! He glanced down towards his arms and would've raised an eyebrow if it wouldn't cause him more pain. His veins were black. As if the blood that traveled through his body had been replaced with ink._

 _It burned._

 _He slammed his fist into the ground, easily creating a crater, to see if new pain could drown the pain he was currently feeling. It was of no avail, but he continued to do so anyway. Any activity to distract him, even if just a little bit, from the current pain he was feeling._

 _Blood burst from several points on his body, his forearm, his neck, his back, he wouldn't be too surprised if he was surrounded in a puddle of his own blood._

 _He desperately inhaled air, thanking God for every sweet, oxygen-rich, breath he took. He imagined it flooding through his body, ridding the black ink out of his body and replacing it with red-colored blood. Unfortunately, that didn't work._

 _He looked down at his body, it was now red. As if his body was pumping out more and more blood to keep up with all of the blood loss. Did it not understand it was just wasting it?_

 _He saw a blur moving closer towards him, it was a human. A woman by the shape of her body. She walked closer and closer. Did she not understand what she was seeing? He didn't want help, he wanted them to leave! There was a coldness in his stomach, something that was begging to be released, to bring his judgement down on these annoyances._

 _The woman came closer, and, against his body wishes, he lifted his head up and growled out at her, "_ _ **Go...Away."**_ _Those two words caused him to let out a fountain blood, and they were just wasted effort judging by how the woman ran up to him in a faster pace._

 _The wind picked up as if to show his defiance and annoyance of the woman's actions, but if she noticed, she didn't care. He barely noticed how the blurs surrounding him started dropping as if an invisible pressure were throwing them to the ground._

 _His eyes were ripped back to the approaching woman the moment a cool hand was placed on his body, and instantly his body felt cold, refreshed. He couldn't even move a muscle to show resistance to her actions, the sweet relief on his muscles were too great to fight against. The wind slowly died down until the sky completely calmed down._

 _He immediately noticed when the woman shifted her position and stood in front of him, but kept her hand on his bare shoulder at all times. He could hear voices, but he couldn't make them out as if he was underwater. While he couldn't make out the voices, he did notice the increase in sound as if they were yelling at each other. He looked a bit to the left and noticed that they were surrounded by the blurs. Focusing on them, he felt the coldness from his stomach increase until it took up his entire body creating a numbing fire._

" _Marines."_

 _His hands pierced the ground to control his sudden rage, his righteous anger, and his ring, the only piece of clothing besides his shorts he was wearing, suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. He looked up as the woman took her hand off of his shoulder and raised her arms to the sides as if she was trying to protect him. She looked calm._

 _It pissed him off even more than it touched him._

" _I'm not weak." He clenched his fist, "I don't need anyone to protect me. I. Am. Strong."_

 _He didn't even notice when all the pain disappeared from his body as he clenched his other fist._

" _I'll become the strongest and then…" His cold blue eyes followed the marines as they raised their guns at the woman before him, "I'll burn this entire world to the fucking ground."_

 _The entire sky shook._

 _And then Judgement fell upon Earth._

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

He was an attractive young man, probably in his late teens or early 20s, with long spiky golden hair. His cerulean blue eyes wandered from man to man in an indifferent manner before casually dismissing them and resting his eyes on the place of interest, which was, unfortunately for them, the three Vice Admirals. A greatly timed wind came through the entrance of the room and embraced his body, kissing his golden blonde hair causing it flow from side to side before eventually resting in its normal position. His spiky hair cascaded down his head reaching his shoulders and two chin-length bangs framed his face. Golden spikes swayed from side to side on his forehead and periodically covered his eyes, giving him an almost mystical appearance. His eyes were an exotic crystal blue that somehow managed to portray power. He wore a short-sleeved black shirt and had his right arm heavily bandaged with white medical tape and purple straps to hold it down. He also had on dark colored pants with a navy colored cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees and an azure blue rope wrapped around his waist with a single black sheathed blade hanging off the rope. Over his outfit, he had on a black short-sleeved cloak with a blue cloud pattern ( **A.N. Akatsuki Cloak with blue clouds. I didn't just give it to him to look cool, there's a reason for it.)** which was left open in the front.

Vice Admiral Stainless-the first person to finish analyzing the individual before him-took a step forward while placing a hand on his blade's hilt, "Who are you?"

The blonde pointed to himself with a bewildered expression on his face, "Me?" He looked at the marines as if he was saying 'can you believe this guy' before sighing and continuing, "I'm just that strong random wanderer, but you can call me handsome."

The Vice Admiral's blade was slowly coming out of his sheath, an audible grating sound appeared as he pulled it out, "Why are you here?"

The blonde pouted and wagged a finger in front of his eyes, "That's not fair~! It's my turn to get an answer to my question!"

"How did you get in here?" Vice Admiral Cancer asked, his face the very definition of calm as he now joined the conversation.

"Well I was walking around when I got lost on the road of life, but when I was trying to find my way back a black cat just _crossed_ my path. I didn't want to get bad luck for seven years so I turned around! But then I saw an old lady struggling to cross the road, so, being the lady-killer I am, I helped her cross the road where she introduced me to her attractive granddaughter. A few hours later I left their house refreshed and was given directions, but the paper she wrote the directions on weren't actually _directions,_ but her number and was telling me to call her. But, eventually, I found this door which was open...and then I walked through and now I'm here!"

Every single Marine stared at him with a sweat drop, now doubting his sanity, a few even fell out of their chairs in disbelief. Even the Vice Admirals weren't excused from the ridiculousness of the situation they were just told about. A small sweat drop fell down their necks as they stared at the bored blonde in front of them with a sense of disbelief.

"So...I answered two of your questions, now you have to answer mine." His amused eyes suddenly turned into ice as he locked onto Stainless's eyes, "Where is...Monkey D. Luffy."

The Vice Admirals felt a chill run through their bodies as they stared at those icy orbs. It was almost as if the temperature actually dropped in the room, they breathed out carefully, attempting to see if they could see their breaths. They couldn't. It was just those freezing blue eyes, they were deadly as if they were staring at the devil himself. They were being drawn into those cold blue eyes...They were mesmerizing in a terrifying sort of way. An image of a snake appeared behind the blonde, deadly and venomous. They suddenly found it harder to breathe as they struggled to retain their calm in front of the predator before them.

The other Marines weren't quite as lucky. His blue eyes seemed to lock onto all of the men in the room and they instantly felt their body freeze.

And then they died.

They saw their death _over and over_ again. Killed. Death. They were killed in every way they could imagine, they felt their surroundings spin around them, and they couldn't tell which way was up anymore. Everything was so disorientating, they felt something rush through their body and they fell to the ground, or was it the sky, and emptied their stomachs, not even noticing the piss that was running down their legs.

They were scared.

No, they were beyond scared. They realized then that they weren't alive because they were strong enough to withstand their fear, no, they were alive because the blonde was letting them live for just this moment. The only reason their hearts didn't stop was because they weren't allowed to die yet, it was as if the man before them held their lives in one hand and with a simple squeeze he could extinguish it. They couldn't stop trembling, they were on the ground, but they couldn't look away from those cold blue eyes and the God-like presence they held. They couldn't move, their bodies felt like it was being strangled by a snake that was slowly making its way to his neck.

They were knocked out of it the moment as an older Marine, one that wasn't as affected at the blonde's presence, whispered to his companion, "Hey...Doesn't he look kind of familiar…"

"Now that you mention it...He looks extremely familiar. Who is he?"

"I can't remember that's why I'm asking you dumbass."

Muting out their conversation, Vice Admiral Cancer looked towards the blonde and the powerful aura he was releasing without even being conscious of it. He could feel the pure power radiating off of him, a presence you develop after seeing many battles, after training for many years. In a way, the blonde in front of him reminded him of the Admirals and Vice Admiral Garp-sama.

It was terrifying.

But his body didn't shake. He wouldn't let it shake. He was a _Vice Admiral._ He wouldn't show fear, no, he would execute _absolute justice_ on all the fools in the world. His hand grasped his sword's hilt and took in the blonde's every detail. Like the other two Marines said, he did look extremely _familiar_. That blonde hair, those blue eyes, it all looked so familiar, but he couldn't remember why...Now that he thought about it, he kind of looks like…

An image of a bloody blonde standing amidst bodies and bodies of men appeared in his mind. His cold blue eyes sent chills down his spine until his hand started to tremble ever so slightly.

His eyes widened in horror and his heart began to race, " _No way...That's not possible…He's dead. He's dead. All of us saw it with our own eyes!"_

Feeling a familiar calm wash over him, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. That's right. He's dead, there was no need to panic. There was no way he could have possibly survived, he was dead. It was confirmed by hundreds of witnesses. He shook his head mentally, right now, they needed to capture and interrogate the man in front of him and see why he resembles that _man_ so much and also what he hoped to achieve by intruding on this conference.

"Men!" He roared loudly, causing all Marines in the room to bring their eyes towards him and stand at attention, "Capture him, immediately!" The other Vice Admirals seemed to be on the same page as him seeing how they drew their blades before he even began to speak. The Marine captains stood up, withdrawing their guns and blades, and stood in front of their commanders.

They would've looked frightening to any enemy. Three Vice Admirals and thirty Marine Captains facing a single opponent. It should've been overkill, it should've been over easily. It should've been obvious who would win…

Which is why the shock was so great when it was over in a moment.

The Marines raised their weapons and were about to attack when the blonde simply raised a hand, his palm facing upwards towards the ceiling, and whispered, " **Raisei.** "

Every Marine tensed up for some type of attack...But not a single thing happened. No sudden explosion, no slashing attack, no destruction once so ever. They simply looked straight at the blonde in confusion.

Was something supposed to happen?

That was the common thought running through every Marine's mind as they faced their opponent. Was it a failed technique? Or maybe it was a strategy to psych an opponent out. Whatever the case, it didn't seem to accomplish much as the Marines decided to move once again.

It was only when they tried to attack once more did the genius of the technique become revealed. They realized immediately the technique didn't fail, but worked flawlessly.

They couldn't move.

They willed their arms to move. Nothing happened. They tried to move their legs to walk forward. Nothing happened. They tried moving any part of their body. Nothing happened! Every single part of their body wouldn't respond to their brain's commands as if their brains suddenly shut off. They couldn't move their vision, they couldn't feel anything, it was like everything was frozen. The guns and swords were still in their hands, they never fell to the floor, it was as if the entire world was frozen still!

The Vice Admirals were in no better shape and were completely affected by the strange attack caused by the blonde. Their bodies-which were conditioned over many years-refused to move. They wouldn't twitch. Their bodies, bodies they've used for their entire life to defeat pirates and carry out _absolute justice_ , were failing them.

Cancer could feel the panic starting to bubble up in his soldiers and even his fellow Vice Admirals by using his **Kenbunshoku Haki**. While they were panicking because of their situation, he was entirely calm. If he panicked now, it was over. He could tell that everyone else was slowly being devoured by their anxiousness and, as such, he needed to think rationally. He noted many things during these few moments of shock. First, while it seemed he couldn't move any part of his body, it seemed he could still use his **Haki** and even think logically. It seemed his attack only affected the body which is why his **Haki** was still usable. Unfortunately, he only possessed **Kenbunshoku Haki** , but, he assumed, that if he had **Busoshoku Haki** then he would be able to move. He could only hope his partners could figure it out before their panic consumed them. Secondly, it wasn't that the blonde actually _froze_ time, given by how the blonde, himself, was moving around and, also, how he could hear the sound of birds chirping outside. Whatever he did to them, it seemed to have shut off their bodies in someway. Unfortunately, even after figuring this much out, he couldn't do anything.

He was at his mercy.

But devils don't have mercy.

He watched as the blonde started going through the files in the room while humming softly to himself. Cancer slowly felt panic bubble inside of him, this blonde...He was so powerful, so strange, so familiar to _him._ It's not possible. He felt sweat dripping down his body, it's not possible for him to be alive...Was it? No, he died. Every Marine who was there at the time saw him die...He's dead.

"Got it!" The blonde said with a satisfied grin and pulled out the files he was looking for, "It seemed I went to the right place on my first try! Although, why they would send such an important file to a place like this, I don't even know." He looked around a bit more and picked up a file that was laying on the table, "I even got a file on Strawhat!" He took a few moments to flip through the sheets in the file before humming in acknowledgement, "So he was spotted on Drum Island?"

He put the Strawhat file back on the table and walked away with the first file under his arm. Cancer managed to catch a glimpse at the folder when the blonde walked past him before his eyes shined in horror. The blonde looked at him from the side and spoke, "It looks like you want to say something? Speak."

Cancer felt his mouth loosen, but his body stayed frozen. It seemed the blonde could control what he froze and what he didn't. He immediately shook his head mentally before glaring at the blonde, "Why? Why do you want those files! ARE YOU AWARE OF WHAT THEY CONTAIN!"

The blonde rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't come all the way here if I didn't. Don't worry," He gave him a thumbs up with a grin, "I'll use them well!"

"You'll destroy the entire world!" The Vice Admiral roared at him, but the blonde simply rose an eyebrow.

"Destroy the world?" He laughed, "I don't think the Marines have any right to say that. Besides," He smirked, "I'd rather burn this world to the ground than leave it as the Marine's plaything."

The blonde walked away with those words, his back facing the Vice Admirals. Cancer spotted his chance and roared, "I won't let you take them!" He shouted to his companions, "His technique won't work on you if you have **Busoshoku Haki!** "

Almost immediately the two Vice Admirals broke out of their frozen state, confirming Cancer's hypothesis, and charged the blond.

" **Shave!** "

They disappeared in a burst of speed towards the smiling blonde, but the moment their blades came within an inch of his face, he disappeared like he wasn't there in the first place. They spun their heads around in a desperate attempt to find the blonde intruder only to freeze when they heard his voice again.

"Maa, Maa." The two Vice Admirals froze when a hand grasped both of their shoulders, "Good job at figuring that out, Old Man! As an award, I'll let you fight me as well!"

Cancer felt the invisible restraints holding his body disappear and immediately sped towards the blonde, the cigarette in his mouth falling to the ground, " **Shave!** "

He disappeared, alongside his fellow Vice Admirals, and they sped around him in a speed none of the other Marines could keep up with. Unfortunately for them, Naruto wasn't just some other Marine.

They unsheathed their blades and charged straight at the blonde, but he didn't even move.

" _Idiot! He's underestimating us!"_

Cancer appeared in front of the blonde and roared, " **Shigan!** "

His finger sped towards the blonde's chest like a bullet as the other two Vice Admirals brought their swords down on his neck. Screw bringing him back alive, if he was after _those_ things then it'd be better if he just died.

Unfortunately for them, thinking that they could kill him was simply hopeful thinking.

The blonde raised a hand into the air, his palm facing Cancer, just a moment before they all slammed their attacks into his body.

Attempted to anyways.

Inches away from his face, all of their attacks were stopped by an invisible force.

Cancer heard the sound of his finger breaking against the invisible wall before feeling it, and, immediately, gritted his teeth to keep a surprised scream from escaping his mouth. He clicked his tongue before immediately going back into action, not deterred at all by a small setback, and unsheathed his blade. He wished he had **Busoshoku Haki** at this moment, but, unfortunately, wishes don't come true.

" _But I do possess three of the six Rokushiki."_

With those thoughts in mind, he brought his blade upwards and slammed it down towards the blonde's head, " **Tekkai!** " He felt the strange shift in his body as the density of his muscles changed, becoming stronger and heavier. He brought it down, 20x stronger than his blade would be without it, but, like his finger, it was stopped completely. There wasn't even a sound, it stopped as if some invisible force grabbed it. He glanced at his fellow Vice Admirals and found that they were in a similar position even _when_ using **Busoshoku Haki**. He gritted his teeth and tried to force his blade downwards alongside his fellow Admirals, who were enforcing their blades with their **Haki** , but none of their attacks could break through.

"What the devil is this?" Cancer growled out, willing his muscles to get harder and harder so he could put more strength into his attacks.

And, as if answering his prayers, the blonde whispered, " **Shinra Tensei.** "

Suddenly the invisible wall that was blocking their attacks disappeared, but they didn't even get a chance to move their blades a millimeter when the force reappeared, but, this time, the force wasn't defending, but attacking instead. The moment those words came out, they only managed to hear their blades-their **Haki** enforced blades-shatter into pieces before all three Vice Admirals were sent flying alongside all of the Marines that were in the room with them. It broke through everything, an unstoppable force that couldn't be stopped. It destroyed every desk in the room and crushed multiple Marines that couldn't handle the imposing pressure. The scent of blood grew strongly in the room, and, even as he was sent flying backwards, Cancer could see the destruction that was being caused. The red mashes that used to be humans and the pebbles that used to be columns.

Unfortunately, the attack didn't stop after they hit the wall. No, it continued onwards. The wall cracked immediately after they hit it and then the wall was completely destroyed alongside the entire room they were situated in a moment later. It destroyed room after room, wall after wall, and crushed person after person. No one was spared-neither human nor object-from the hell-like attack. They were sent flying through the entire building, hearing the sound of their screaming men and the falling building.

The attack finally stopped and all three Vice Admirals were found barely conscious or dead on the ground, coughing out blood from the internal bleeding that was caused by the blonde's attack. Cancer pushed off the ground and groaned as his body pulsed in agony, begging him to sit still for a moment longer. He ignored his body's wishes and stood up...He needed to see this for himself.

He first glanced at his fellow Vice Admirals to see how they were doing. He frowned in distaste at seeing Vice Admiral Mozambia's body. They weren't exactly friends, in fact, they barely talked to each other, but he wouldn't wish this fate on any of his allies. His body was smashed to the point that he wouldn't even recognize him if it wasn't for the fact that Stainless was on the other side of him. His left arm was gone, his right arm was broken beyond repair, but the worst of his injuries were his face and stomach. His stomach seemed to have imploded from the pressure pressed upon him and his stomach was an ugly red, assumingly, caused by the overflowing blood that seemed to have exploded from not having enough space in his stomach. His legs were mashes of meat and his face was broken beyond repair.

He was dead.

There wasn't a doubt in his mind, but he didn't feel an overflowing sense of sadness. In fact...He didn't feel sad at all.

He saw his other Vice Admiral seemed to be alive, he was heavily injured, but was just unconscious. He noted again that not even a bit of relief flushed through his body at the sight of his living companion. His eyes moved off the bodies of his companions before moving on towards his soldiers. It was an ugly sight. All of them were smashed beyond repair, simply stains of blood on the ground. Body parts laid everywhere, and, using his **Haki** , he could tell that there were no signs of life...Meaning there were no survivors besides him and his fellow Vice Admiral.

He turned towards the Blonde that was spotless among the corpses, looking very much like a single white flower among roses. It was then that he realized that there was something wrong with him, himself. At the sight of his fallen men...He didn't feel anything. He was numb.

He heard the blonde spoke, "You Marines always pissed me off, but it was always the higher-ranking guys like you that really made me angry," His eyes turned towards the blonde, "You believe in absolute Justice. The thought of accomplishing your goal no matter the cost, even if it means taking innocent lives. How many civilians have you killed in this pursuit? You probably can't even count that high. You let your never-ending hate of pirates carry you which makes you do unforgivable things that could make the devil cry." The blonde looked into the sky as it started to rain, a huge black storm cloud covering the entire sky, leaving not even a speck of blue, "But the most unforgivable thing you've done is pass on your idea of 'absolute justice' carry on to the next generation. How many lives have been lost because of these foolish actions? You pass on that hatred to the next generation in hope for peace." The blonde brought his cold blue eyes to the Vice Admiral as the sky started to rumble with thunder, "We are but men, drawn to act in the name of revenge that we deem to be justice. But...if there is justice in revenge then that same justice will breed only more revenge...and trigger a cycle of hatred."

Electricity started to dance around the blonde's body as the Vice Admiral spoke, "You...Really are alive." Cancer started to laugh, "You said before...That if you can't change this world then you'll just burn it down and build a new one from its ashes. Those were your last words two years ago!" A single tear made its way out his eye, "Heaven's Reaper, The Sovereign of the Sky...Uzumaki D. Naruto." Cancer wailed, as if he was trying to let someone hear him, "The legendary Pirate, **Sky God Naruto** is alive **!** "

Naruto raised his hand into the sky, "I am...And this world will change!" The sky rumbled, " **Raiden!** "

And then, the area was drowned in blinding light.

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Three Years Before Present (Continuation)**

 _The first thing Naruto expected when he woke up was unbearable pain, and, as such, he prepared himself by gritting his teeth. Surprisingly, no pain wracked through his body, in fact, if he was being perfectly honest, he felt good. Really good. Better than usual. He felt wind wrap around his body like a lover's embrace and covered his skin in kisses. He could feel his hair flowing from left to right and he heard the comforting sound of his heart beat._

 _He felt a single eyebrow scrunch up._

 _He could hear his heart beating. Naruto was pretty positive he couldn't hear that before. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his back, much to the agony of his muscles whom were begging him to sit still for a few more days. He immediately closed his eyes right after, the sun was blinding after the darkness he embraced for who knows how many hours while he slept. Raising a hand, a hand that throbbed in pain but still felt so strangely powerful, he put it in front of his face to block the sunlight. He squinted until his vision returned to normal. Finally capable of seeing, he looked around and found that he was on a bed in a hotel room. There wasn't much in here, just the usual hotel objects-closet, desk, bed, bathroom, dresser, mirror, etc-besides a backpack filled to the brim._

 _He raised himself until his back was leaning against the bedpost before looking down at his body. It seemed someone tried to bandage him up, albeit sloppily, judging by the red, probably by his blood, bandages tied around his mid chest. He glanced down and saw a huge scar running down from his heart towards his waist in the shape of a cross. Then he looked towards his right arm and noticed the strange black markings running down his entire arm. He raised his hand and analyzed it. What the hell was this? He studied everything and put it under two different topics. One, there were 10 rings circling his entire arm going from his wrist to the very end of the shoulder, and, two, all of the strange markings in between the rings. He tried to read it, but he couldn't even figure out if it was a language or not. It was so strange. He stopped studying his arm and traced a finger on the scar, how did he get it? Actually..._

 _Raising an eyebrow, he tried to remember his past, his family or anything or the such. His eyebrows creased as he concentrated...but he couldn't find anything. Not a memory. Not a single thing. He tried to think of his time as a child and how he got these markings...but he got nothing._

" _Damn it!" Naruto thought, "Think!"_

 _Who was he? He was Uzumaki D. Naruto. He thanked God that he at least remembered his name. Feeling a little hope, he continued to question himself. Who was his father? Blank. Who was his mother? Blank. Did he have siblings? Blank. Did he have family? Blank. Was he abandoned? Blank. Who did he love? Blank. Who did he like? Blank. Where did he live? Blank. How did he get here? Did he have friends? Did people miss him? Blank. Blank. Blank. BLANK! He couldn't remember a single fucking thing!_

 _He felt panic rising in his body, and his breathing became more ragged as his heart started to race. What happened to him. Where was he? His hand, almost against his will, moved towards his left hand where a ring rested on his middle finger. It was pitch black with a red crystal in the center that seemed to almost glow. His hands touched it and he immediately felt calm again as if this was his safety blanket. Judging by how this was his immediate reaction after freaking out, it wasn't far from the truth._

 _As he looked at the fiery red crystal, he realized he remembered one thing. A feeling. A single feeling towards one thing was all he could remember besides his name. But this feeling carried weight. He knew it and he would embrace it and destroy the object of that feeling._

 _The feeling was hate._

 _His target was the World Government._

 _Why he hated the Marines he didn't know, but anytime he even thought of it, his whole body burned in a fury he never felt before. His blood rushed faster and his heart rate picked up. He touched the ring and calmed his feelings before letting out a tired sigh._

 _His eyes sharpened as he set his priorities straight. He had all of life to think, but he had an unknown amount of time to act. Right now, remembering wasn't important. Right now, he only had one thing to figure out. Where was he and how did he get here?_

 _Before he could even attempt to remember the memories before awakening, the door to the room was slammed open and an attractive young man walked in, assumingly 17 or 18. He had shoulder length black hair with freckles dashed on both sides of his face and was wearing a yellow open-front shirt. He had on black shorts with an orange belt tied around his waist and black boots. There was a blue pouch belted around his left leg and he also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheathe hung off his hip and he had a tattoo running down his upper left bicep with the letters A, S with an X on it, C, and E, listed horizontally. He had on a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels._

 _They stared at each other for a moment before the guy who walked in grinned at him, "Awake already?" He lifted the bags he was holding, "Hungry?"_

 _Naruto looked at him for a moment before he grinned, "Nice hat. Orange is the best color. And sure, I could eat, thanks." He really could, now that he thought about it, it felt like he hasn't eaten in years. His stomach was growling at the thought of food. Maybe there'd be ramen..._

 _The man brought his bags to the table and responded, "Yeah, Orange is the best color. I don't know why people say otherwise. Oh," He looked over to him, "I forgot to say,"_

 _Naruto glanced at him, what did he forget to say? Did he know who he was? Did he know why he couldn't remember anything. Did he know how he got here? So many thoughts ran through his head at the moment which is why his shock was so great when he grinned at him and pointed at himself,_

" _My name's Ace, welcome to my Pirate Crew!"_

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

It was time to let the world know that he was back.

He stared at the destruction that was caused by his hand, a hand that held so much power that a simple flick of his wrist could create a 'natural' disaster. He was a storm, wild and impossible to contain, and as destructive as the fires from hell.

He let out a dry chuckle, "Fires from hell, eh? I suppose it matches my epithet."

His blue eyes glanced downwards, analyzing the destruction he brought upon the island...What used to be an island anyways. What once was the formidable HQ of the East Blue Marines was now only drifting pieces of earth, floating through the ocean like miniature glaciers. The building, the trees, the people, everything besides small chunks of earth was erased from existence as if a wrathful God has fallen upon it.

His eyes glanced towards the small movements coming from the south side of the rubble. His inhuman hearing easily picking up the sound of his uneven breaths and erratic heart beat. He was unconscious and the remains of his Marine uniform barely covered his modesty. Burns covered his entire body, leaving no doubt in Naruto's mind that they were fatal. By tomorrow morning, the blindly loyal Marine would be dead alongside all of his companions. Naruto never twitched nor showed any sign of remorse as thoughts of him having a family entered his mind, him laughing alongside of his friends and picking up his daughter in happiness.

He crushed those thoughts.

None of that mattered to him nor did he feel even the least bit bad because of what he did.

In a way, he saw it as justified that all of these Marines were lying dead by his feet.

He shook his thoughts and calmed his heart that was ever-so-slowly getting faster as anger, red-hot rage, hit his system. Letting out an even breath, he glanced at the Marine once more. He was laying on his back on one of the larger pieces of drifting Earth. A Den Den Mushi laid by his side, completely untouched by the destruction brought to this island. Of course, this was done purposely. He needed someone to contact Marine HQ and tell them what happened here.

The pleasing sensation of wind hitting his face distracted him from his thoughts as it carried his long blonde hair backwards, causing his locks to slowly flow across his head. If anyone else was in his position they would've found it to be chilling, freezing even, but that happens when you're floating a couple hundred feet in the air overlooking the island below him. If you were to look closely something flickering seemed to be coming from his body, but it was much to small to actually identity. He felt warmth hit his back before turning his gaze towards the sun that has finally came out from the cover of the clouds. The sun was falling, kissing the Ocean and turning the sky into a deep pink. Naruto smiled softly, almost as warming as the sun before him, and reached out towards the sun that was so close to him, yet, at the same time, so unreachable.

He let out a relaxed sigh before speaking, "This is the first time I've seen the sunset in two years…" The heat was comfortable and his body was eagerly swallowing up the warmth given off by the sun. It was his first time seeing the sun in a long time and he intended on sucking up as much as he could before he had to leave for his next 'meeting'. He turned his hands into fists and felt a familiar warmth take over his body, "It was worth it though. I did what I had to do to..."

He shook his head roughly and slapped his cheeks to knock himself out of his thoughts. As much as he wished he could just float their while watching the sunset and reflect his entire life, he couldn't.

It was his first day back into the world, his first day back under the cover of the sky, and he was already double booked. He groaned slightly, he wished he could just relax for a few small moments and relish in the silence of the sky, but he knew he couldn't. His cerulean blue eyes glanced downwards towards the remains of the island before sighing. At least he finished his first part of business today, it went smoothly too! He got the files he was looking for and also heard an interesting piece of news about an interesting individual.

"Monkey D. Luffy, eh."

A smile fell on his lips. He's heard so much about the kid that it felt like he already knew him, but, unfortunately, he never got the chance of being introduced to him, but from what he heard about him from that informative meeting, he seemed like a pretty interesting kid. He heard about the incident concerning Luffy at Loguetown, and how he grinned the moment before he died as he proclaimed his dream, his ambition, to the world. He managed to get the highest bounty in the East Blue within a couple days of his pirate career, has escaped death with divine intervention, and escaped Smokie the Bear's grasp. He grinned at the thought of smoker, "Ah...The good old days." These facts alone held his interest in the black haired boy, but that still wasn't the real reason he wanted to meet Luffy. Naruto always been one to follows his instincts, and they were blazing the moment he heard about Luffy.

Uzumaki D. Naruto has always been more animal than man. He followed his instincts and feelings always. Logic meant nothing to him. It didn't matter if he had to fight an army, if he felt like it, he would do it.

He let a grin play on his face, "Paying him a visit should be interesting though. I wonder if he'll live up to all the hype?"

He laughed a bit and watched, regretfully, as the sun fell and was swallowed by the deep depths of the Ocean. For a moment he saw how the sky and Ocean met, but then darkness claimed its place in the universe and the magical existence he dreamed of since he was a child disappeared alongside of it. He frowned, it was time to leave. He couldn't be late for this particular bit of business, but he supposed it was better dealing with them with the darkness rather than the light.

A smirk played on his lips as the shadows danced upon his body from the light of the moon. His eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness and almost glowed in a mystical light. His hand slowly made its way towards his coat and into his pocket, returning with a strange object in his hand. The moon shone light on the figure and it revealed that it was a mask, a frightening looking mask. Red traced its eye holes, three crimson dashes played on each cheek, and two pointy ears were on the top of the head.

It was a mask of a Kitsune. It's eyeholes seemed to follow him everywhere, it was rather eerie.

Naruto placed it on without any hesitance.

His smirk widened behind his mask. After all this time, it was finally time to reveal he was back.

His grin turned fox-like, it was time for the more entertaining part of today. His body danced with blue light as electricity swirled around his body in an erratic manner. His entire body started glowing an electric blue, his eyes and arms, even his hair glowed blue and slowly started to raise into the air. Then his body disappeared into the sky in an impossible level of speed, only leaving a strike of electricity in the sky that disappeared after a moment.

The only thing that remained was his soft whisper, the whisper that was drowned by the dangerous rumble that made the Heavens roar, "And now...Let's tell the underworld who's back…"

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Good Morning!**

 **It's been a long time since I've written some fanfiction, so, I hope, my grammar and ability to write a story that people actually like hasn't diminished.**

 **Anyways, this is an idea I've wanted to write for a long time now, and I've finally gotten time to actually write it! I got a perfect idea for Uzumaki D. Naruto which, I think, is rather unique. I haven't read many One Piece x Naruto fanfictions so I can't say that for sure.**

 **READ THESE TWO NOTES IF NOTHING ELSE**

 **First thing to note:** **This Naruto was born and raised in the One Piece world, he is NOT a Ninja nor will he have chakra or anything like that!**

 **Second thing to note:** **Anyways, as you probably noticed, this chapter was divided in half. One half was his past, the other is his present. This was only for this chapter to introduce that we will eventually get back to the present timeline (Which is when Luffy first entered the Grandline), but for the first handful of chapters this will be of Naruto's past and, if you were reading the few parts I've written in this chapter, I'm sure you have an idea of his past.**

 **Naruto's Devil Fruit**

 _ **?**_

 _Raijin (Dragon Blitz)_

 _Lightning is concentrated in Naruto's right arm and, once focused, explodes and takes the shape of a dragon head which then shoots off his arm in the form of a wingless dragon. Looks like a snake's body with a dragon's head. A powerful attack that, once hitting its target, blinds the area in light._

 _Shinra Tensei (Divine Force)_

 _Naruto first used this attack to block attacks directed at him in a defensive manner. It was capable of easily blocking the attacks of three Vice Admirals, even when two were using Haki to enforce their attacks. It was also seen being used in an offensive manner as well seeing how he destroyed the entire building by repulsing everything around him._

 _Raisei (Pulse Subjugation)_

 _Naruto was seen using this ability to disconnect the body from the mind. It is unsure how he activates it, but he was seen raising his palm into the air to cause this ability causes anyone in its range (Range is unknown) to lose control over their body. Armament Haki has been seen to be able to resist it and regain command over one's body. It hasn't been shown whether there are other ways to resist this Technique._

 _Raiden (Heaven's Judgement)_

 _Unknown, but capable of destroying an entire island._

 **Of course this is part of Naruto's mystery since I'm not going to exactly tell you what his devil fruit is. Although the hints I've dropped probably made some of you develop an idea, of course the fruit will be revealed sometime in the future, could be next chapter could be at the end. Who knows.**

 **Side Note**

 **I just watched One Piece movie Z. Would you guys rage if I incorporated some elements (which means characters as well) into this fanfiction. Let me know.**

 **Pairing**

 **This one is pretty simple. There are two choices. Harem or Single Pairing. Whatever gets more votes I'll do since I'm fine with both. I'll be more specific when it's decided what type of pairing I'll do.**

 **Reviews, Follow, Favorite**

 **Anyways, how'd you like it? Review, follow, and favorite, constructive criticism is appreciated, but flames are for bitches. Don't be a little bitch. I like seeing reviews and the like, makes it more fun to write when people actually want to read your story.**

 **Other Stories**

 **Naruto: Everything Blooms Twice**

 **All my past readers are probably looking for an update on this...Well I wrote like three more chapters for it on my Laptop. Which broke. And I lost all my fanfiction stories...which is why when I bought my new laptop, I use google drive for everything! So yeah...maybe when this burning rage is out of my system I might write the next chapter.**

 **New Stories Coming Out**

 **Naruto x Akame Ga Kill Crossover**

 **This is the story I'm most hyped about uploading. The first chapter is 30,000 fucking words which is why I need a Beta Reader. So, please, for the love of God, someone PM me to be the beta reader of my stories! It'll be uploaded the moment my future beta reader finishes fixing it.**

 **Naruto**

 **This story is another story I'm going to upload soon, I'm not quite finished with the first chapter. I still need to finish it. But once I do, it'll be uploaded right away.**

 **Okay I'm done self-promoting.**

 **Beta Reader**

 **PM me if you're interested in being my beta reader. There's a lot I need to do, but I don't have enough time to do it! Thanks**

 _ **Review, Follow, and Favorite.**_

 _ **Next chapter will be out sooner or later!**_

 _ **It'll be better grammar wise.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Spade Pirates?

**Author Note**

 **Hello! Thank you for the reviews and follows! Just a few things I'd like to make note of before the chapter starts.**

 **To 0 Jordinio 0:** **First, thank you for the review. Secondly, what you claim as "unneeded" was actually necessary. If you've read the entire chapter, including the author notes, you would've realized this, but, judging by your review, I doubt this. So allow me to repeat myself. The previous chapter was necessary to show that the story would eventually get back to the present (When Luffy first arrived at the Grand Line) because starting from this chapter on it will show his past. I found it necessary to show all my readers that this story will return to the present at some point. This makes the rest of your opinion on this topic irreverent and pointless to respond to. Third, thank you for pointing out the "Shave" and "Soru", I never noticed it which is why I agree with your comment about needing a Beta Reader. Thank you for taking the time to review and read my story! Hope I didn't sound too bitchy.**

 **To Wubie:** **Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked my use of the flashbacks. And don't worry about the pairing, my main focus will** _ **always**_ **be the story. The pairing is simply a side course to the main dish. Lemons? I've never been interested in writing lemons, not my thing. This will, and always will, be more focused on the plot rather than the pairing. Thanks for your review.**

 **Anyways, from this point on, the next handful of chapters will ALL be Naruto's past, so those of you who were confused by my last chapter, you won't be confused this time around.**

 **This chapter is rather light-hearted, but the story, itself, will be rather...Dark. I want to explore the darker sides of the One Piece world. Just a warning for anyone who wishes to quit now.**

 **Enjoy and Review.**

 **Fallen Prince**

 **Chapter Two**

 _Spade Pirates?_

Disbelief trickled through his body as if he was a stream that had its path unblocked. He doubted the functionality of his ears for the first time...Well, what he _assumed_ was his first time since he couldn't quite recall anything before he woke up. A bubble of emotion popped out from his previous thought and he quickly masked it by voicing his apparent disbelief at his current predicament.

"Sorry, what? I think I misheard you."

"No worries!" The man before him answered or, he supposed, he should call him Ace since that was his given name. He didn't have time to ponder upon the strangeness of his name before the freckled-faced boy grinned at him and chirped out, "My name's Ace! Welcome to my Pirate Crew!"

"Ah…" Naruto hummed softly, "That's what I thought you said." His disbelief slowly turned into amusement as silence began to reign over the room Ace acquired. The silence lasted for a few precious moments before Naruto felt a rumble running from his stomach and through his throat. He let it out and laughter followed, uproariously contagious laughter which caused Ace to join in a few moments later. It would've sounded companionable to all other ears until Naruto suddenly stopped laughing after coming to the conclusion that Ace was being _serious_ before deadpanning at him.

Naruto spoke bluntly, "I'm not joining your crew."

"What? But you're already a part of my crew," Ace replied. Naruto briefly noted that it sounded like he was stating a fact rather than speaking an opinion. He felt a headache develop, he already knew that this situation was going to be rather hard to diffuse. A trickle of frustration already began to made itself known only a few sentences into this conversation, although, at the moment, it sounded more like lobbying than anything else. He didn't have time to waste with this.

"No. No, I'm not," Naruto replied, his words slipping off his tongue slowly as if he was declaring Ace an idiot.

Ace waved him off, "You already said yes."

Naruto exploded, "WHEN DID I EVER SAY YES!"

"Well," He started. "Two weeks ago you did something really badass! So I asked you to join my crew and you didn't say no."

"I DIDN'T SAY YES EITHER! I was _unconscious."_ Naruto's cerulean eyes stared at him in disbelief, this guy couldn't be serious...could he? He didn't even remember his own past and now he was suddenly on a pirate crew? Annoyance flickered brightly within him, fueling his urge to, well, putting it bluntly, "fuck everything up" in blind rage at his own confusion over his lost memories, but he immediately shoved it down. He _wouldn't_ be ruled by his emotions. His heart rate sped up and calmed down just as quickly before Ace spoke once more.

"There aren't any take backs!" Ace responded, his words dancing happily out of his mouth as his hands reached towards the bag he just brought in. The moment Ace moved, Naruto felt his eyes lock onto his hand. His body tensed, keeping his gaze locked onto Ace's every movement as if he was preparing for some type of attack. His body was coiled, ready to strike at a moment's notice like a cornered snake. His cold blue eyes watched carefully, his sharp teeth bared, and he came to the conclusion that a fight certainly would let him lose some of his...steam. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on his stormy emotions, he felt his muscles relax when Ace only took out some food before casually humming as if they weren't having a conversation that could change the course of their entire lives.

"There wasn't anything to take in the first place! I'm not, and never was, in your crew!" Naruto growled out, he could've sworn his vein was visibly pulsing at this point.

"So what do you want to eat to celebrate your inauguration to my crew!" Ace said with a grin, "I'm feeling meat!"

"ARE YOU RETARDED!" Naruto roared, finally snapping, "I don't even remember anything, not from yesterday or even anything from _before_ that! It's all blank! And you're insistent on trying to make me join your crew!" Naruto was panting by the end of his rant, staring at the infuriating man before him. He didn't know if he always got this worked up or Ace was simply the fated existence he could never handle.

Both seemed like feasible answers.

Maybe when Naruto looked back at this moment and all the moments that followed, he'd reluctantly say he was a _little_ bit snappy, but he had every right to be so!

Ace immediately stopped digging through the bag and turned on his heel to face him, his face losing its trademark smile and taking up a more serious look than before. From the brief interaction Naruto had with the freckle-faced boy, he already assumed that Ace was rather air headed, but seeing the calculating, serious glint in Ace's eyes made him reevaluate his assessment of Ace's personality, "You don't remember anything?"

Naruto shook his head in confirmation, his eyes watching him warily, "Not a single thing besides my name." He looked at Ace, his anger slowly numbing, before asking, "You said I did something badass before? So that means you _have_ to know something about me, right?"

Ace pushed his back off the wall before walking towards him and dropping onto the chair placed at his bedside. His coal black eyes stared straight into his sky blue orbs as if he was searching for something. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but didn't do anything to stop his search; although, his muscles were tensed and coiled like a snake, prepared to strike at any hostile movement. Ace seemed to have found something, although whether it was good or bad is something that the blonde wouldn't find out, before speaking, "Yeah...I know something." He shook his hand in a shaky matter, "I wouldn't say it's a lot, though, I only ended up coming at the last few moments...It was really impressive though." He hummed softly as thoughts ran through his mind before looking at Naruto's body and posing this question, "Can you move?"

Naruto cracked his neck, a satisfying popping sound was audible to the whole room, before throwing his legs off the side of the bed without hesitance. His feet hit the ground and he wasted no time in throwing off the blankets and standing up. He was wary at first, he didn't know why, but his body was screaming at him that he should be prepared for impact. That standing up was going to hurt.

His initial feeling was wrong.

Naruto's shock was apparent on his face judging by Ace's amused smile, but he couldn't help it. He felt _really_ good! Full of energy. Warm. _Powerful._ While he didn't remember his past, he couldn't help but think, no, _know_ that he's never felt like this before today! He looked at his hands, legs, chest, his entire body before ripping off the bandages tied around his waist. Whatever wounds he did have seemed to have healed a long time ago. He looked at Ace in amazement, "Are you a doctor or something? I thought I was going to be hurting pretty terribly when I woke up, but it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, I feel... _good."_ Naruto smiled in amazement, "I feel...I don't even know how to describe it." Don't be mistaken, he felt stuffy like he's been asleep for ages, but it's like he could barely notice it with that strange warm feeling in his body.

"Like there's a rushing feeling flowing through your body, never ending and electrifying, making you feel _alive_."

Naruto whipped his head at Ace and replied, "Yeah! Exactly like that!"

Ace gave him an amused smile, "Well, I'll answer your first question about how come you're not injured any longer. That tends to happen when you've been asleep for two weeks."

Naruto froze, all traces of joy immediately vanishing as a stricken look took position on his face, "Two weeks...What the hell happened?" He couldn't remember the last time he was unconscious for that long...scratch that, he couldn't remember a thing, but it just didn't _feel_ right.

" _What could've happened to me that could've possibly knocked me out for so long...That just doesn't seem possible."_ Naruto leaned against the bed as he stared at Ace, not bothered at all by the wind that was embracing his naked upper body. It was actually refreshing.

"Well...I'm not sure myself. I was actually going to ask you," Seeing his confused look, Ace continued, "Your injuries didn't seem to be from the event that happened two weeks ago. They didn't even manage to touch you before it was over." He pointed at the scar on his chest, "Whoever gave you that, happened before the fight two weeks ago. You were in pretty bad shape too, your left arm was almost completely severed, there were burns all over it! I'm surprised the Doctor was able to fix you up so well." Ace looked like he wanted to say something else, judging by the conflicted expression on his face, but ended up saying, "It was really impressive."

Naruto traced a finger down his scar, his thoughts racing in order to remember something, _anything._ But nothing appeared. It was as blank as when he woke up, it wasn't a one time thing. His memories were _gone._ He felt a strange emotion bubbling in his chest, but he pushed it down. Hard.

He shook his head, now was not the time for feeling sorry for himself. He'll _find_ his memories, he'd make sure of it, right now he had to find out information that he could confirm.

"What event are you talking about?" Naruto spoke finally, his voice sounding just a bit strained. Ace handed him a glass of water, which he took with a grateful nod. He immediately drank it, feeling sweet relief as the cool water ran down his throat. He drowned the cup in a moment before placing it on the bed stand.

Ace smiled at him, " _That_ has to do with your second question. I'll ask again," He looked at him, "Can you walk?"

Naruto huffed in annoyance, "Of course I can. I'm not _weak."_ He refused to be weak. He couldn't be weak. Those were the thoughts repeating in his head, flowing through his blood, and encasing his very being. He didn't know _why_ he felt this way, he couldn't find out even if he wanted to due to his amnesia.

Ace rose an eyebrow in amusement as he walked towards the door before Naruto shouted out, "Oi! I need some clothes! I'm not getting arrested for nudity."

"Afraid to show your body?"

"I'm afraid for all the women in the town, actually. Can you imagine what would happen if a dashing, young man, such as myself, walked into town almost completely _naked._ They wouldn't be able to contain their lust for me and I'm sure that would be extremely uncomfortable for you." Naruto stopped speaking to look at him in horror, "Unless you're the type of guy who would like to watch people going at it. Oh good god! Get awa-"

"Shut. Up." Ace said with a twitching eyebrow before pointing towards the closet in his room, "Just grab something from there, kid."

Naruto looked at him with even _more_ annoyance, "Kid? I'm probably older than you, _gaki._ "

They looked at eachother before blurting out at the same time, "17!"

Ace grinned at him, "See we're the same age! It must mean you're meant to be a part of my crew."

Naruto rolled his eyes before walking towards the closet and pulling out a white belt and an admiral blue open-front shirt. He didn't find it necessary to put on some new pants since his jeans were relatively in tact. He quickly put on his open-front blue shirt, which he didn't bother buttoning due to their being no buttons to button and he'd rather keep it open. He wrapped the white belt around his waist before quickly tightening his loose pants.

Once finishing up he turned towards Ace and gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks."

Ace nodded, "No problem! A captain has to take care of his crew afterall!"

Naruto groaned, "I'm not joining your crew."

"I already told you it's too late to say that."

They walked out the door and through the hall in silence, which was absolutely fine with Naruto. He needed time to think. He steadied his breathing, his racing heart, and let his thoughts slow until his whole body was synchronized. Not a single muscle twitched, not a single movement was wasted as they walked down the hall, he was the perfect combination of silence and violence.

He had so many pieces to the puzzle he awakened in, but, no matter how hard he tried, the pieces wouldn't fit together. He could make assumptions, but he couldn't tell if they were right or wrong. The doubtfulness that wrapped around his mind as he went over theory after theory didn't help matters either. He frowned to himself, maybe it'd be best to simplify the matter before him by cutting the pieces into even smaller pieces.

He woke up with no memories due to amnesia, so the question would be what _caused_ the amnesia. From what Ace told him, he was supposedly extremely injured two weeks ago; although, he found it rather hard to believe judging by his lack of injuries, but the reaction his body had when hitting the ground proved that he must've been injured at some point. So because of the injuries he received two weeks ago, he lost his memories. That means if he went to the place he lost his memories then something might ring a bell?

" _No,"_ Naruto frowned as another thought came to him, " _Ace said I had those injuries before whatever happened two weeks ago which means that I wouldn't find the cause of my amnesia there."_ Naruto groaned in frustration, " _Damn it! I can't even figure out a single piece of my mystery even after cutting it in half! Maybe I should think on a smaller scale?"_

What was this event that happened two weeks ago? Ace said he knew, so with the information given by him and the information gathered from wherever they were going, should answer that question. Right?

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He frowned in annoyance, every time he blinked, he saw his arm. Another mystery that he couldn't answer without reclaiming his memories, but he couldn't help himself from trying. The strange markings running down his right arm looked ancient and illegible, possibly a language or maybe he was overthinking this? They could simply be tattoos? His eyes glanced at the man walking beside him or, more specifically, the tattoo that ran down his left arm.

" _Might as well try."_

"Hey, Ace." Once seeing Ace turn in his direction, he continued, "Are these tattoos?"

He raised his arm in Ace's direction, but he didn't even glance at it before answering, "Nope."

"You didn't even look at it!"

Ace stopped walking and looked straight into Naruto's eyes, "That was another thing I wanted to ask you about. Remember when I said you were severely injured, especially your left arm. There were burns covering your entire arm, there were places on your arm that was even _missing_. Your _fingers_ were gone." Ace pointed at the markings, "But those markings never disappeared. When a piece of your shoulder was ripped out, the markings that were on your shoulder disappeared and reappeared on the muscle beneath your skin."

He looked at the markings strangely and then looked at his shoulder. Didn't Ace say he was missing a part of his shoulder and his fingers? He squeezed his left arm into a fist. His fingers were still there, but before he could comment on that, Ace answered it for him, "Then your arm healed. Before my very eyes. All the wounds that happened to your left arm disappeared like it never happened and a new one took its place…"

"What?"

"It's like I said. I blinked and your arm returned to how it was normally. Only your left arm, the rest of your body was still severely injured. Whatever the case, those markings are in no way tattoos. I don't know if it healed or you somehow got a new arm, but it happened...and I'm not the only one who saw it."

The moment he said that they walked outside of the hotel and entered the streets. Immediately, all eyes turned to them. Well, not _them_. At Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow as they all stared at him like he was an exotic animal they've never seen before. His eyes moved through the crowd, but the moment his eyes fell on one of them, their gaze would fall and immediately turn around. Before he could even question them or say a word, they all turned around and left in a sprint. Soon the entire street was empty besides the two young men standing in the middle of the street.

Naruto was left bewildered, "What...the hell?"

"Maybe you should take off your shirt so all the ladies will come back and lust after you?" Ace suggested, a smirk taking place on his face.

Naruto glared at him and Ace gave a nervous laugh, "Sorry. Not funny." Ace scratched the side of his face, "Yeah...Like I said before, I wasn't the only one who saw it. And you also did something that made everyone...terrified of you, I guess." Seeing the glare directed at him, Ace rose his hands, "Them not me! Besides you did the right thing anyways. I think you'll understand when I show you."

Naruto sighed before placing his hands in his pockets, "Whatever. Lead the way."

Ace walked forward and grinned at him, "But isn't it exciting! This is a huge mystery! What are those markings? I can't wait to figure it out!"

Naruto couldn't help but feel the same, as much as he hated to admit it, he was excited. What were these runes, why did he have no memories, who exactly was he? He growled at that side of himself, how could he be so excited when a part of his life was _gone._ He couldn't help the thought that he wasn't thinking this over as hard as he should be, but another part said it wouldn't be logical to worry about things you didn't know about yet. He shrugged mentally, he'd follow his instincts. Naruto smiled back, "I guess the marking part is exciting," He glared at Ace, "But the part about my memories isn't a game."

"I know, but we'll figure that out."

Naruto rose an eyebrow before responding, "What do you mean by 'we'."

Ace never turned around, "You're part of my crew now. Your problems are my problems. I'll help you figure this out, it's what it means to be a captain."

Naruto stared at his back for a moment...before kicking him in the back causing him to stumble forward, but not fall to the ground.

Ace glared, "What the hell, asshole!"

" _And the calm facade drops,"_ Naruto smirked.

"Stop trying to act cool," Naruto said simply. "Plus. I just felt like it."

"You should be glad I don't go out of my way to hit cripples. Or weaklings."

"You really think you could beat me?" Naruto said with a pulsing vein, pushing his face in front of Ace's face. "I'll squash you like a pancake, Ace, and I like my pancakes flat."

"Of course I can," Ace responded, the same vein popping on his forehead, " _Cripple._ "

"What are you waiting for? Your balls to drop?" Naruto growled out, this guy...he was taxing and he met him _minutes_ ago.

"Is that all you have to say? They're last words, you know." Ace replied without missing a beat, a cocky smirk placed on his lips. Naruto was about to reply when Ace stopped, "Oh. We're here." Those words stopped Naruto in his tracks, his curiosity of this 'event' overwhelming his want to trash-talk Ace. His head turned towards where Ace was looking, curiousity dancing within his bright blue orbs.

He blinked.

Naruto's eyes scrunched up in confusion, "...And what exactly is here?" Those thoughts would run through every person's minds when seeing the scene in front of them. It was a clearing. No trees, no people, no animals. It wasn't uncommon, most clearings in the forest were like this. Naruto tilted his head towards Ace before questioning, "What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

Ace spoke, "This wasn't a clearing. It used to be filled with towering, full-grown trees, this whole area was full of life. It was never barren. Until two weeks ago."

Naruto's mouth dropped and a frown took up his face. It did, in fact, look like there _used_ to be trees in this clearings. If he looked closely he could see small, almost unseeable, burnt stumps on the ground. He raised an eyebrow in confusion...Burnt? The trees weren't cut down. A forest fire? Highly possible, but Naruto couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was wrong, that he was missing something. It wasn't caused by something _natural._ He looked around the clearing and then took notice of another fact. The whole clearing was a perfect circle. A perfect 360 degrees circle, as perfectly shaped as an artist using a tracer. No fire could be stopped so _perfectly._

" _But the ground is burned…"_

That was an indisputable fact. What else but a fire could cause this level of destruction? He walked towards the center of the circle, but it almost felt like he wasn't the one moving. Like someone else was causing his feet to move towards the very center.

He never made any movements to stop himself, and, as such, made it to the very center without any obstructions. Another strange fact made itself noticeable, the center of the circle was fine, unburnt. As if it didn't participate in the slaughter that happened to its brethren. How strange. His feet stepped onto the remaining patch of ground, and he felt his body freeze. Standing in the very center of the circle...he felt a strange sense of deja vu.

" _I've been here before."_

He inhaled.

He exhaled.

And then the smell hit him. Fresh, yet old. Strong, yet weak. Faint, yet clear. Memorable, yet new. He could hear voices, yet he _knew_ there was no one here, but him.

And then the memory of two weeks ago came rushing back.

The Marines, the strange fruit, the inexplicable pain, the strange girl, and the _power._

Naruto turned towards Ace, "I killed them all didn't I?"

Ace nodded, "Yeah."

Curiosity flashed in his eyes and he questioned, "How?"

"Well…"

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Two Weeks Ago**

 _Ace was sitting high up on a tree and had his back against the bark. He watched the scene below him coolly, who would've expected that just four weeks after leaving his village he would already run into the Marines?_

 _He expected to run into them within the first couple of days, but, no, he was wrong. Four full weeks went by without even seeing a single Marine. Although, he supposed it wasn't too weird that he hasn't seen any Marines since he started, this was only the second island he went on since starting his journey. He's been on the ocean for ages, it was like his hometown was in the middle of nowhere...or it may have to do with the fact that he was in a canoe with a single paddle._

 _He sighed. A new ship would have to be one of his two goals today. This was the reason he came on this island after all, well, that, food, and to find some crew members. He was glad when he found this island that seemed decently populated, since this was the first island he saw in three weeks! Actually, this was the first island he's actually seen people on in four weeks. The first island he found a few days into his departure from his village was devoid of all life except for a single fruit on the sole tree on that island._

 _It was disgusting. Extremely disgusting_

 _Ace flicked his tongue in his mouth in distaste, he could still remember the taste as if he's just eaten it a moment ago. When he did consume that tantalizing orange-colored fruit, he immediately knew something was wrong._

 _Terribly, terribly wrong._

 _Not only did the strangely shaped fruit taste horrible, but the effects of it were even stranger. No sooner had he swallowed the first morsel of his meal did the sweet nectar of his mid-afternoon snack turn to ash in his ash burned, but at the same it compelled him to continue his motions as if it didn't turn to ash, and so he decided to swallow despite the sudden surge of dread that swelled upward from his stomach. It was a costly mistake. That first, fateful bite, immediately brought a prickling sensation that trickled up his spine.  
_

 _And then...he changed.  
_

 _A grin made its way on his face as he raised his hand and willed it to come out as if he was trying to move an unseen appendage. And, defying the laws of the world itself, it did. Flames licked off his arm, but he didn't panic. It didn't hurt him, it couldn't hurt him, even the blazing sun's heat didn't bother him._

 _It was because he was hotter than the heat itself._

 _It was because he, himself, was fire._

 _As if it was responding to his thoughts his whole arm disappeared within the flames until only fire remained, his arm unseen to the world. They glowed brightly, rippling back and forth with life and energy. He was the fire and the fire was him. He was a living flame that couldn't die out._

 _A grin made its way on his face, he would never regret his decision of eating that devil fruit, even though he lost his ability to swim. If he had the choice to change the past, he wouldn't, he would consume the fruit every time. Even if it's only been three weeks since obtaining this power, it was already a part of him that he planned to keep within him._

 _He let the flames die out like they never existed in the first place and his arm reappeared, hand and shoulder and all. He was quite comfortable with the flames now after training it on the ocean for three weeks. He wouldn't say he mastered it, he wasn't even close, but he had a grasp on it that would lead him to mastering it. He could already transform into fire at will and he even came up with a few ideas. Of course, he never tested out most of those ideas...he wouldn't want to burn down his only chance of survival. He let an amused smile fall on his face, if Luffy was the one who eat the_ _ **Mera Mera no Mi**_ _he wouldn't even think of the consequences, he would simply act upon his thoughts. He shook his head, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that._

 _His eyes narrowed on the scene below him, right now the present was more important. And what was it that he was watching so closely? A blonde haired teenager, probably around his age, was kneeling on the ground in pain. At least, Ace assumed he was in pain judging by the way he was scratching at his throat and doing his best to hold himself from writhing in pain. Of course, the blood bursting from his body, the bleeding wound on his chest, and his arm that looked like it was placed in a blender were big hints as well. Surrounding the blonde were Marines. A lot of Marines. They circled him and were pushing all of the civilians-people that were attempting to help the blonde-away as they shouldered in closer to the blonde, their guns cocked and ready to shoot._

" _Why aren't they helping him? It's obvious that he's suffering?"_

 _No voice answered his thoughts, so he simply watched, getting ready to move in a moment's notice. He noted that a young woman, probably around his age as well, was standing next to the blonde and trying to help him._

" _She must've went to him before the Marines showed up," Ace thought as he observed the pair on the ground. The young man had long spiky blonde hair and...Were those whiskers on his face? Ace shook his head with an amused smile before it dropped as he continued to give the blonde a once-over. He was shirtless and, like stated before, was extremely injured. He had on dark-colored shorts and, if he was seeing correctly, strange black markings on his skin. The blonde would probably be seen as extremely attractive by girls._

 _His eyes shifted towards the young woman who stood beside the blond. Even from all the way up here, he could tell that she was extremely attractive. She looked like a slender, curvaceous young woman with long dark blue hair framing her face. She wore a blue hooded cape over a sleeveless white collar purple top that exposed her stomach, and had on grey shorts, black high heels, and a gun holster on her right leg. Looking closely he could see an X shaped scar on her right leg._

 _He whistled at himself, he was impressed by his vision. Being able to spot all those details from so high-up. He wanted to pat himself on the back, but he settled with getting a lot of food after this._

 _Turning his eyes back to the situation at hand, he watched as the young woman put herself in-between the Marines and the Blonde._

 _He strained his ears to listen to the conversation at hand and managed to hear the last few sentences._

" _What do you think you're doing?" The girl's voice rang out in the clearing, "Can't you see he's injured?"_

" _We've been ordered by HQ to execute any suspicious characters that arrive here in order to protect this village. It is a code that every Marine carried. A man flying from the sky and into the ground with heavy injuries are what we see as suspicious…" The Marine smiled, "You're free to join him. We didn't even get a chance to report this to anyone, all of the Marines in this village are here to execute him." He looked at her closely, "Actually...I've never seen you here before either...You qualify as suspicious."_

 _The girl spread out her arms in front of the blonde, "I won't let you harm him."_

 _The Marine grinned in a sickly fashion, "That's too bad...It's really too bad." He waved his hand towards the civilians who weren't even attempting to resist him, "We protect all of you from the Pirates, and, as such, you should simply shut up and do as we say. As far as we're concerned you all are owned by us for we saved your lives so many times. And you know what we do to the villagers that don't listen to us…" He whispered, "Very bad things…"_

 _Flames licked off of Ace's arm, this was pissing him off. He couldn't wait to shut that mouth of his, people like him made him sick. They keep mouthing on and on about how much of a badass they were, but, in the end, they were all weaklings who couldn't do anything for themselves. The moment Ace was about to try out a new move he thought about when he was riding in his boat on the Ocean, something caught his attention and caused him to stop._

 _He looked towards the blonde that was kneeling on the ground with his fingers plunged into the earth. He blinked once to see if he was hallucinating, but found that he wasn't. He watched the blonde carefully and found that his original impression was correct. Electricity danced around his body, swirling around his arms and sparking in the air. The wind seemed to pick up unnaturally and it swirled around his body, only visible if you were paying attention._

 _Everyone else seemed to feel that something was off judging by the way everyone stiffened and turned silent. The wind stopped, the voices stopped, it was as if time itself was frozen. He barely noticed as the woman made her way beside the blonde once more._

 _The flames licking off his body glowed bright and grew warmer as if they were trying to protect him. His nose twitched._

 _The pungent smell of Ozone flowed through the air and Ace threw his head towards the sky. His eyes widened in surprise as a huge storm cloud covered the forest around them. It glowed an electric blue...And then it was blinding._

 _Ace closed his eyes as an angry light came down from the heavens and covered a huge part of the forest. A moment later he heard the drowning sound of thunder rumble across the sky and he gripped the tree tightly._

 _When he opened his eyes, he gaped at the pure destruction that was caused. All the trees that were once in front of him were gone, eradicated, not even leaving ashes behind. The ground was black, charred, and seemed to have cratered in a bit. Ace's eyes widened in amazement. It seemed he got lucky, actually it wouldn't have hurt him due to him being made out of fire, but still, that was way too close! He was standing at the very edge of where the attack couldn't reach._

 _He exhaled, "That…" A grin made its way on his face, "Was absolutely awesome!" His eyes caught the figure of two people in the center and grinned at catching sight of the blonde who caused this and the blue haired girl who tried to protect him. It seemed the place around the blonde didn't get hurt…_

 _Ace jumped down from his trees and made his way towards the blonde in a casual jog. The girl, seeing him, nodded in his direction and pointed at the blonde before leaving._

 _It seemed she was leaving the blonde in his care. He shrugged, it didn't really matter, but she could've at least stayed behind to be thanked by the blonde in question._

 _He finally made it to the blonde, who was now slumped over in exhaustion probably due to the fireworks he just caused. Like stated before, the blonde was extremely injured, and, seeing the severity of the wounds, Ace quickly picked him up and made his way towards the village as quickly as possible._

 _Ace grinned at the blonde as he sped towards the village, "Hello, my name's Ace. A pleasure to meet you. Want to join my Nakama?"_

 _Not hearing a disagreement, Ace grinned, "Great! Welcome to the Spade Pirates!"_

 _His journey to collect some Nakama and become a famous Pirate has finally started._

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Flashback Over**

"...And that is how it happened!"

Naruto looked at him in disbelief, "How the _hell_ could you take that as me saying 'yes' to joining your pirate crew? Were you high or are you just stupid?"

"Is that seriously the first thing you say when finding out about all of this information? Not a thank you for bringing you to the hospital or how the hell you did this or even asking about the girl who tried to protect you? Are you sure _you're_ not high?" Ace growled back, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he glared at the whiskered blonde before him.

Naruto looked at him in honest confusion, "You know the answers to all those questions?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Ace replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I don't know. Ever since I woke up you seemed to not know anything and have been waiting for me to wake up to give you the answers. So...Yeah, I didn't think you knew anything." Naruto scratched his cheek as he looked at Ace mockingly.

"Why does everything you say make me want to bash your head in? Can't you just say 'Yes, I'd love to know the answer to all those questions, Captian.'"

Naruto's vein throbbed, "BECAUSE I'M NOT IN YOUR FUCKING CREW!"

"YES YOU ARE!" Ace replied in equal volume, their heads were against each other as they glared into each other's eyes with something that was most definitely not _intimate_ , rather, it was pure annoyance. If anyone else were watching they would laugh at the expressions they held on their faces...or back away, depending on your viewpoint.

Naruto sighed and stepped back before looking at him questioningly, "Are you sure you're even a Pirate?"

"Are you sure you're even blonde?" Ace replied with a question, his arms crossing over his chest.

Naruto rose an eyebrow and Ace had to admire how sarcastic that small movement was, "What the fuck? What do you mean, 'am I even blo-" He shook his head in disbelief before continuing, "You know what? Just answer my question. Are you sure you're even a pirate?"

"Yes, _Whiskers._ "

Ignoring the insult, he continued, "What's your Pirate Crew called?"

Ace grinned, forgetting their admittedly petty argument, and replied, "The Spade Pirates."

Naruto had to give it to him, "That's actually...A pretty badass name."

"Right! It's going to be skull with cross bones with my hat on its head!" Ace replied eagerly.

Naruto frowned, his ears finding something amiss, "Going to be?"

Ace laughed, "Yup! I don't have a flag yet. Or ship."

Naruto looked at him skeptically, "You don't have a ship or a flag and you claim you're a pirate? Where are your crew members?"

Ace replied, "There's two in total counting you."

Naruto face-faulted before glaring at him, "First of all, I'm not in your crew! Secondly, that means it's just you! Did you just start?"

Ace nodded, "I'll become the strongest. The best the seas have ever seen."

Naruto opened his mouth as if to protest, but closed it right after. He didn't have anything to say to that, he respected a man with a dream, "Well...Good luck, I guess."

Ace smiled, "We're going to go far."

"I'm not in your crew," Naruto cringed at the thought that it was starting to sound like his catch phrase, but if he didn't repeat it Ace wouldn't get it! He didn't know how to proceed with this unexpected dilemma, but not letting Ace continue their battle with words sounded like a good start, "Anyways, getting back on track, what exactly did I do back then?"

"Oh, that?" Ace answered, "You ate a devil fruit."

Naruto looked at him blankly, "A what-now?"

"A devil fruit. The curses of the sea." Ace looked at Naruto's blank face and sighed, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Devil fruit users in the East Blue are really rare."

Naruto looked at him curiously, "What exactly is a devil fruit?"

"Devil Fruits are, like the name supplies, fruits that grant you special powers, but take away your ability to swim."

"Wouldn't that be extremely bad for Pirates since they live on the sea?" Naruto asked, it just seemed like a terrible idea to eat a fruit that takes away your ability to swim when only a boat laid in-between you and your death.

"Not everyone eats it willingly. Some just find a tasty looking fruit and eat it and others, knowing of the ability it can give you, simply eats it," Ace answered before raising three fingers, "There are three types: Zoan, Paramecia, and Logia, the rarest type. Each of which gives you a very different ability such as being made out of rubber or turning into a lion or even becoming an element like ice."

"Those fruits sound really badass...Well, except for the rubber one. That seems pretty lame. Is it possible to get a bad fruit?" Naruto questioned. He had no doubts in his mind that he would throw away his ability to swim if it was something badass like controlling ice, but if there was a high chance of getting a shit power then he probably wouldn't eat it.

"Of course, the fruits vary and you can never know what ability it has until you eat it," Ace replied with a grin, "It could be as useless as eating a human-human fruit. You're just losing your ability to swim without any gains."

"The risks seem kind of high. I'm glad I never ate…a weird...fruit," A mysterious white fruit appeared in his head and he felt sweat begin to run down his neck, "Oh...Shit."

He looked at Ace to confirm his thoughts and groaned when he gave him a thumb-up, "Yeah! You ate a devil fruit!"

Naruto groaned, "Fuck!" He blinked and then thought it over again, "Actually...A badass ability doesn't sound so bad even if it does take away my ability to swim. I never liked water anyways." He grinned at Ace and waved towards the crater they were in, "Does that mean I have an ability that caused this? What power do I have? Come on! Tell me!"

Childish excitement ran in his eyes as he hopped on his toes like a child who was about to open their first Christmas present.

Of course, all that joy vanished the moment a fist smashed into his face and sent him flying across the clearing and into a tree. He rubbed his head before opening his eyes, glaring at Ace who still had his arm outstretched and roared, "What the fuck you asshole? You don't just sucker punch people!"

Ace ignored him and seemed to be murmuring to himself, "Hmm...Weird. He wasn't supposed to get hit."

Naruto hopped up from the ground and sped towards him, appearing as nothing more than a blur, and appeared by his side, a roundhouse kick flying towards Ace's head, "What the hell did you think was going to happen when you punch someone in the face!"

His kick touched Ace's face. He expected to hear the sound of bones breaking beneath his kick. He expected to hear a shout of pain or some type of exclamation.

He didn't expect his eyes to widen in shock as his leg went _through_ Ace's head like it wasn't even there. His eyes glanced at the flames that licked off his head before he followed through with his motion, his leg passing completely through his head before Naruto quickly spinned to a stop. Naruto gaped at Ace as flames licked off his head, returning Ace's face to his normal grinning face.

"I expected _that_ to happen. But I forgot that you actually have to awaken your abilities to actually control it!" Ace tilted his head to the side and gave him a sheepish smile, "Whoops…"

Naruto didn't even comment on his mistake as he stared at Ace in amazement, "What...are you?"

"I ate the **Mera Mera no Mi** and now I'm a flame human! I'm literally made out of fire," As if to support his statement, flames licked off of his body and rippled brightly, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Naruto eyes turned to stars and he grinned, " _Extremely_ cool!" He looked at the flames closely, "What kind of fruit is this?"

Ace replied, "I guess I wasn't really specific about the types of fruits. This is a Logia Fruit, the rarest type of devil fruit. It turns your body into an element such as wind, ice, magma, and, in my case, fire!" His pointer finger turned into flames and he pushed his hat up, "Badass, eh?" Seeing Naruto's awed face, he laughed before continuing, "There are Zoan Fruits which transform you into an animal. And, lastly, there are the Paramecia fruit which give the users a power that can affect their body, manipulate the environment, or produce substances. Generally, Paramecia Devil Fruits are fruits that give their users powers other than transforming into natural elements, like Logias, or transforming into animals, like Zoans."

He pointed at Naruto, "You ate a Logia which is why I punched you since physical attacks aren't supposed to harm you since you're intangible. But I forgot you have to control your power to actually do that…" He grinned, "Sorry about punching you by the way."

Naruto waved it off and focused on what he said before, "So that White Fruit I saw before was a devil fruit? And it was the rarest type, a logia?"

Ace nodded in confirmation, "Yup."

Naruto's eyes practically burned in excitement and said, "So how do I use it?"

Ace's hand turned into fire and he smirked, "Will it out."

" _Will it out?"_

Naruto looked at his hands curiously before deadpanning at Ace, "And how exactly do I do that?"

Ace replied, "You shouldn't think of it as some inner power or anything like that. It's a part of your body like your arm and a leg. Think of it as an appendage."

Naruto looked at him strangely before closing his eyes, " _Think of it as an appendage? So like a third arm?"_ He felt the strange energy, the warmth, swirling wildly like a storm within him. It felt strong, powerful, new. There were so many words that popped up in his head, but none of them could do this feeling justice. He grasped the energy and pulled at it, commanding it to come out, to shine upon his fists. He felt the energy pour to his fists and concentrate until it felt like it was vibrating.

He opened his eyes, confident that he got it right, but groaned when he saw absolutely nothing. He looked up to Ace with a cloud of depression forming above his head, "I...failed…" Tears streamed down Naruto's face in a comical fashion as he staggered towards Ace, "I want a badass power too! Ace, help me!"

Ace looked at him in amusement before frowning in thought. Naruto watched him think for what felt like years, but, in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Ace snapped in his fingers and a light bulb shine on top of his head, "I got it!"

Naruto grinned, "You thought of something? What?"

Ace looked at him and spoke what was on his mind, "The only reason I can come up with as to why you aren't capable of bringing it out is because you don't know how it feels or looks like. You probably weren't even conscious when you destroyed this area." Naruto nodded, it made sense, and Ace continued, "Anyways, all we have to do to get that power out of you, is to recreate the situation. Or, more specifically, the emotions you felt during it. Anger, fear, desperation, all we have to do is draw those emotions out of you and see if it releases your energy." He looked at him weirdly, "You're kind of strange though...all of the Devil Fruit users I've met could use their abilities, albeit badly, the moment they got it. Maybe you're just an idiot?"

Naruto's eye twitched and glared at him, "Just tell me what I have to do, you living piece of Tabasco!"

"I'm going to kick your ass over and over again until you use your powers!" Ace said with a grin and cracked his knuckles, "I've been meaning to get a Guinea pig to test my new techniques against."

"You're going to kick my ass to see if it will unlock my powers?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You're kidding…"

"I'm dead serious."

Naruto looked at him in a contemplative fashion, "So tell me, what's it like living in a constant haze of stupidity?"

"If you'd ju-"

"I've heard a lot of stupid things in my first _half hour_ of new memories,"

"Will you just lis-"

"And this has to be the most _retarded_ thing I've heard all day."

"Dude, lis-"

"And you actually think you can beat m-"

"Shut the hell up you bastard!" Ace roared in an unexpected burst of anger.

Naruto grinned at him, "Finally broke your coo-"

Naruto didn't even get the chance to finish his statement as he had to jump to the side the moment Ace threw his fist forward, " **Hiken!"**

A huge fist of flames came charging towards him and Naruto barely managed to roll on the ground towards his right, just missing the scorching orange flames. He could feel how hot it was just a few feet away, his arms probably had a few burns on it for being so close.

His gaze turned to where the fist hit and his eyes widened as he watched it plow down tree after tree with ease until it dispersed into the air. Naruto gaped at the destruction it caused, it was _unreal._ He never thought a human was capable of doing something so destructive, an entire aisle of trees were missing!

His head turned back to Ace, a grin taking place on his face as he shouted at him, "Whoa! Calm down, buddy! It was just a joke. There was no need to _heat_ up."

Ace smirked, "I'm going to enjoy using you as my Guinea pig." He lifted his hands as he made casual conversation, "You know this is the first time someone has been able to rile me up so easily since I was a child. You're just unbearable."

"You don't have the right to say that! You're even _more_ unbearable than me!" Naruto shot back, flipping onto his feet as his eyes locked with Ace.

"Hmm...I think this is a clear-colored sign that you're meant to be on my crew!"

"I guess I must be color blind since I can't see any signs here!" Naruto smirked, "How about this...if you manage to beat me, I'll join your crew. If I win, you give up on trying to make me join your crew and you have to help me control this power of mine."

Ace raised an eyebrow, "You think you can beat me?"

Naruto didn't need to look back to remember the destruction Ace caused with a single punch. He remembered it clearly. He wasn't an idiot, he could tell Ace was strong. Even without his devil fruit he could tell Ace was strong physically, but having both his physical abilities and devil fruit made Ace akin to a monster. Even so, even though he knew Ace was strong, he couldn't shake the feeling of confidence in his own abilities. It was weird, but a familiar spark of energy shot through his body as he anticipated the fight before him.

Naruto smiled softly as he raised his hands, "I may not have my memories, but I _know_ I can fight. The excitement building up in me, the itching to get it started already, it's all in my blood. Fighting is in my blood. Just because I don't have my memories doesn't change a thing. None of that matters," He crouched a bit lower to the ground as his smile turned into a fox-like smirk, "I'm still going to kick your ass. So what's your answer? Deal or no deal? Or are you too scared to fight me?"

"Scared?" Ace scoffed, a smirk making its way on his face, "Don't be ridiculous. Deal."

They stared at one another as a rough wind blew through the clearing, drowning the words spoken by Ace, "I have a feeling we could be good friends."

Naruto eyes locked onto Ace's body, who seemingly decided not to waste anymore time and raised his index and middle fingers at him like guns, " _Don't tell me…"_

Ace's eyes narrowed and focused on him before speaking, " **Higan!"** He lifted his fingers and brought them down again and again as bullets made out of fire came bursting out of his finger tips and made their way towards Naruto. They sped across the battlefield at the speed of _actual_ bullets and Naruto could only watch in awe as only a few inches of air laid between the fire and his face. He closed his eyes and let out a breath before his eyes shot open, revealing chilling blue eyes that locked onto the advancing bullets.

They were only a hair's length away from his face before he _blurred._ His body blurred left as he smashed his leg into the ground beside him, his blue eyes leaving a trail of gleaming light, before he shot towards the right and disappeared in a burst of speed. His wild blonde hair never whipped him once as he sped around the field, in fact, he couldn't help but feel great! After sleeping in a bed for two entire weeks it felt amazing to have his body move again. He could hear his muscles cracking in various places as his body moved faster and faster in order to keep up with his brain's commands. The thought of releasing all of his stress, all of his frustration, with this fight made him move even faster.

His body was nothing more than a blur as he sped around the clearing-which was made into their battlefield-easily weaving in-between the bullets that were racing towards him. His eyes perceived them all in slow motion, he felt so much _faster_ than usual. His muscles flowed like a river, wasting no unnecessary energy with every movement. His limbs, his _entire_ body felt so much stronger, so advanced. And, for some strange reason, he could _hear_ the bullets making their way through the air. It was almost as if he didn't even need to look at them to dodge them...and then, a few moments later, he realized that he wasn't looking at them anymore. ( **A.N. Not Haki)**

" _Is this part of my Devil Fruit power?"_

He shook his head mentally and his eyes almost seemed to glow in a serious light as he sped towards Ace. This was no time to think. It was time to fight. Speeding towards Ace, he leaped into the air, jumping at least 20 feet into the air to avoid the bullets that were trying to pierce him. He spun in the air and brought his hands into his pockets before throwing his hands out...Only to widen his eyes in shock when nothing came flying out.

" _Damn it! I don't have my weapons!"_

His eyes saw a glint of light below him, and he looked down to see Ace's fist rippling with fire. Immediately realizing that Ace was going to use that fist of fire technique, he cursed before looking down and seeing his pants. " _Ah! I never changed my pants! Cheers for not stripping!"_

" **Hiken!** "

Naruto slammed his hands into his pants and pulled out wires which he skillfully, and quickly, wrapped around his fingers before launching them to the side and grabbing hold of a tree. He gave it an experimental pull before nodding in acceptance. He pulled himself towards the tree and swung down through the air, passing side-by-side the huge fist made out of fire, and sped towards Ace. He let go of his wires the moment he hit the ground and took off in a burst of speed, kicking the dirt all over the place.

" _Weird. I can remember all my abilities perfectly, I can recall what Marines and villages are, the only thing I can't seem to remember is my past. I mean I'm not a doctor of amnesia or anything, but I feel like this isn't normal..."_ A frown briefly appeared on his face before it immediately dropped, it wasn't time to _think._ It was time to _move._

Naruto covered the distance between them within a second and grinned as his right fist smashed into Ace's nose, "Suprise, motherfucker!"

At least he _tried_ to smash Ace's nose, but, instead, his fist slipped right through causing him to lose his balance and go _through_ Ace's entire body. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he smashed his left hand into the ground to keep his balance before lifting himself up and smashing his right foot into Ace's body.

Similarly to his first two attacks, they went right through and, all the while, Ace stood there with his hands in his pockets. He didn't believe that Naruto could hit him. He felt his eye twitch, the bastard. He wasn't going to give up, he _refused_ to give up, because of one lousy setback. He raised his remaining foot into the air, placing himself into a handstand and, all the while, smashing his heel into Ace's chin, but it had no effect at all.

" _Damn it! There has to be some type of weakness!"_

Growing annoyed by his lack of progress, he spun on his hands and windmilled kicked Ace again and again, but he simply rippled with flames before returning to normal.

"Damn it!" Naruto roared and smashed his heels down in a double axe kick, but it passed right through him before cratering the ground slightly. It would've been an impressive feat to any other eye, but Naruto was not impressed. He didn't feel flesh in that attack.

Ace whistled, "You have a lot of stren-"

He didn't have a chance to finish as Naruto sped in front of him, smashing his right arm into his face before continuing by sending a combination of punches and kicks into his body, each of which were not harming him in any way.

Ace had to admit that he was fast, probably faster than he was, and he had strength that was almost as strong as his own, being able to crater the ground like that, but the blonde wasn't capable of beating him today. Or tomorrow. Or any day for that matter, and he made Naruto aware of this, "Just give up. That's not going to work. Physical attacks can't harm me."

"Shut. The. Hell. Up." Naruto breathed out after every combination while glaring at the rippling flames, "AND STOP JIGGLING YOU BASTARD!"

Ace, growing annoyed by the defilement of his body, growled out as he turned his body tangible, "Fine. I'll just have to kick your ass and show you that you have no chance…"

He spun on his heels and smashed his elbow towards Naruto's temple, which was blocked with the blonde's right palm, before sending his right fist towards his opponent's face. Naruto responded in kind by smashing his fist into Ace's, creating a shockwave that sent the dust circling the two fighters everywhere. They engaged in a heated fist fight, not moving an inch from their current position besides the heated motions of their fists. Each strike were met by the other, creating shockwaves with the sound of gunshots, probably waking the entire village up.

Naruto was having trouble keeping the grin off of his face as he met every punch with his own. He was having more fun than usual. He had to give it to Ace...He was a good fighter. Naruto always thought he had a strong punch, but Ace was keeping up with him and meeting them with his own. Naruto's smile fell as he watched every single punch head towards him, " _Unfortunately for you, Ace, I have no intention of losing."_

Naruto's punches picked up speed until they were barely blurs causing Ace to break out of their fist fight before grasping his right wrist with his left hand, "Here's a new technique for you... **Kagero!"** A huge stream of fire came flying out of Ace's hands and towards Naruto. Naruto analysed the technique quickly to find its faults and benefits, and his eyes quickly found what he was looking for. It took up a lot more space than Ace's Hiken, that much was obvious, but it was a lot less concentrated. It was probably meant to take out a wide group of people...or people fast enough that were capable of dodging his attacks.

Naruto turned his head from side to side and cursed after seeing a huge path of flames reaching out until the ends of the clearing and realized that he was part of the second group of people. He growled in annoyance and sped towards the side, if he moved backwards the entire forest would be set on fire and he would be in an even _worse_ situation. He had to give credit when it's due though and his respect begrudgingly grew for the man before him. It was a smart move. A long width attack capable of stopping a person's motion...stupid smart people.

Naruto cursed, _"I'm not going to make it in time!"_

He felt the fire's heat on his skin and knew it was only a foot away from turning him into fried chicken. Seeing the end, he pushed off the ground and leaped through the air. He made it almost all the way through when his left arm caught on fire and cursed.

" _Son of a bitch!"_

His feet slammed into the ground to keep him from slamming into a nearby tree and quickly beat out the fire on his left arm. Looking down at his arm, he took notice of the damage and groaned. 2nd degree burns...He just got out of the fucking hospital too! His eyes heard the sound of rippling flames and he turned around to watch as the huge stream of fire behind him died off and Ace came walking through the flames, his orange hat covering his eyes.

Anger boiled in his veins. It burned through his skin and caused his heart to race as he tightened his fists. He was angry. Extremely angry. Not at Ace, not at the situation. No, it wasn't from anything like that...It's just that this scene felt so similar to something that happened before, but he couldn't remember why! The reason he grew even more angry is that he couldn't understand why he felt rage in the first place.

He cursed in annoyance before looking down at his left arm that was covered in 2nd degree burns...That was _supposed_ to be covered in 2nd degree burns.

" _What...The hell?"_

The burns were gone. Every single burn that had burned his skin right off and revealing pink meat were gone. His skin was back as if it wasn't just set on fire. His left arm was perfectly fine, covered in the black markings like it was in the morning. It was as if nothing happened to it in the first place. He looked at the rest of his body and found that it was still injured, his right arm had burns and his legs were still bleeding.

His heart beat faster as a thought crossed his mind, " _Black Markings…"_

He stared at his left arm, " _No way...Ace was telling the truth. What the hell are you?"_

He didn't get a chance to finish his thoughts as balls of fire were shot at him causing him to disappear in another burst of speed, but this time he wasn't running away.

" _Screw defense. Sometimes a good defense is just kicking ass!"_

Throwing all plans out of his mind and crushing the sensible thought of his brain that told him this was a terrible idea, he charged straight at Ace, racing past the fireballs and into the inferno. He covered the distance quickly, there was probably less than 20 feet between them. He leaped off his feet and into the air as Ace's fire surrounded his fist in an orange orb.

He fell down towards Ace and smirked as he managed to dodge Ace's fist by tilting his head to the right before roaring, "Okay, bastard! If you can heal second degree burns like they're nothing then you can fucking punch a wannabe-candle. Smash em good, Left!"

His left arm cocked back, he clenched all of the muscles in his arms tightly, and poured all of his strength into his fist before Naruto roared, " **Demon's Left!** "

"I already told you it won't wo-"

Ace's voice was cut off by the fist smashing into his left cheek and sending him flying through the forest, smashing down tree after tree before finally rolling to a stop.

Naruto gaped at his left his, "No...Way. It actually worked. Holy shit! I knew you could do it! Hell yeah! I'm treating myself to a bowl of ramen for that!"

He rose an eyebrow in amazement as Ace got up right after, a bruise growing on his face, but, other than that, he looked fine besides the shocked look on his face, "You hit me?"

Naruto nodded, "I hit you."

"How?"

"Well when a fist hits a cheek it usually sends you flying...I think that's what 'hit' means...I don't really have the legal definition mesmerized if that's what you want." Naruto said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Ace groaned, "No, you moron! I'm saying how is it possible that you hit me? Logia users can't be hit unless they're actually _trying_ to get hit. How did you hit me? I was _intangible._ "

Naruto scratched his cheek, "Ara? I...punched you. Like this," He made the motion again, "And then you went flying."

Ace rose an eyebrow, "That's all?" Seeing Naruto's nod, he sighed, "I don't think that's the reason…"

"Oh," Naruto slammed his palm into his fist, "Before I hit you when you used that stream of fire thing. Extremely badass by the way, hurt like a bitch though." Naruto rubbed his left arm in memory before holding it up to him, "You managed to burn this arm, but, like you said before, it healed completely. Of course, all my other injuries are there, like the burns on my arm and the scrapes on my cheek from the debris we sent flying around, but my left arm looks like it hasn't been touched in the first place."

"What does that have to do with this?"

"I'm getting to that," Naruto said with an annoyed glare. "After which I was growing annoyed by your fireworks and thought that, well...If my arm could heal from burns like it was nothing, then why can't it hit you? And, now that I think about it, I've never used my left fist except during that fist fight we had when you were tangible." Naruto summarized, "Basically, what I'm getting at is that I think these freaky markings are doing this."

Ace looked at him for a few moments before nodding, "I guess that makes sense...Kind of. That would mean your left arm, and only your left arm, is like sea-stone which can nullify a devil fruit's ability." Ace looked at him weirdly, "Those markings are creepy…"

"You think I wanted this?" Naruto grunted, shaking his arm at him before smirking, "But...If this arm means I can finally hit you...Then I'll gladly keep it. Get ready...It's my turn now!"

Naruto bounced on the tips of his toes before bringing his arms up, "Hope you're not scared now that you know I can hit you."

Ace laughed before flames began to lick off his body again, "Scared? Don't be ridiculous. Now it only went from a slaughter to a mauling. I'm done playing around. You're going to need your devil fruit if you hope to match me…" Ace blurred forward in a shocking burst of speed, fire shooting out of his feet with his fist cocked back as he whispered, "Because I'm no slouch without my powers either!"

Ace's fist smashed into Naruto's nose and sent him flying, but before he could even catch himself from flying backwards, he heard the sound of, " **Hiken!** " and immediately felt the unbearable heat of fire behind him.

" _Fuck! I have to touch the ground!"_

He flipped himself around and touched the ground, still hopping on his toes, and right before he was consumed by the flames he whispered, " **Zanzoken."**

Flames consumed his body, but Ace didn't let down his guard. His eyes watched the explosion of flames carefully, never blinking and never missing a single detail. That was way too easy. Naruto was strong. It was that simple, Ace could feel his presence the moment he was near him, and, because of this, he knew Naruto wouldn't be beaten so quickly.

This was why he wasn't surprised when Naruto came speeding up from the flames of the fire and towards him at an impeccable rate. He smirked at Naruto, "Hit me once, shame on you." Ace took off in a burst of speed and smashed his fist into Naruto's cheek, "Hit me twice shame on m-"

He cut himself off the moment he went _through_ Naruto. His eyes widened in shock, was it possible that Naruto managed to unlock his powers already? Those thoughts directed his mind as his body took action when his motion was too great to be stopped and he had to follow through with a flip before managing to take a glance behind him. Naruto was behind him...But he was fading?

He was ripped from his thoughts when a fist smashed into his cheek with enough force that the sound of a whip cracking sounded out as he was sent flying away. Ace flowed with the motion the punch sent into him and flipped in mid-air before landing on the ground.

He spat out a glob of blood before cracking his neck and turning toward where Naruto was standing with a grin on his face...Where two Narutos were standing. Ace blinked...But they were still there. Maybe he was hit a lot harder than he though? But, before he could check his head for damage, the left blonde faded away until there was only one smiling Naruto.

He pointed at him dumbly, "I didn't know you had a brother."

"Like it," Naruto said with a grin, "I call it **Zanzoken (Afterimage Technique).** I move so swiftly that an image of me is left behind."

"They seem very real though," A finger poked Ace in the back, "They copy my movements perfectly, it's hard to tell which one is real since the voice comes from both of us. Plus, I'm moving so fast that I'm capable of being in whichever one I want while leaving images behind me! As such, they move as as if they're almost physical copies of me." Naruto rubbed his chin, "Although, it's rather tiring to keep moving so fast and maintaining many of them at a time is rather hard. But it's great for tactics and it makes you take every single one of us seriously since I could be in _any_ of them. Pretty cool, neh?"

Ace didn't answer, instead fire erupted off of his body like a volcano causing the image behind him to disappear. Ace clicked his tongue, the real one probably left after he touched him, and turned his head towards the only clone he could see at the moment.

"Of course, they disappear the moment something hits them, but as long as I keep moving it makes a pretty destructive technique." Naruto spoke, his eyes glancing at the space his clone was last at, "But fixing all the faults in it is pretty much impossible, but it's fine how it is. It's more of a distraction and kick ass kind of technique, you know?"

Ace watched him carefully before a grin slowly crept on his face as he loosened his posture and took his hands out of his pockets, "Interesting...This sounds like fun. It's almost like fighting Luffy, unpredictable yet I still win everytime…"

Naruto smirked, "I think you'll find me a lot more challenging than this Luffy…"

"I don't know. Luffy's pretty tough for a kid."

"Well then...I'll just have to show you," Naruto whispered, " **Zanzoken!"**

Naruto stood with his hands in his pockets before his entire body started to blur and shake until Ace couldn't even tell if Naruto was shaking or not. He seemed to be standing still, but he couldn't tell if this was because he was actually standing still or he was moving so fast from two positions that he couldn't even tell. The thought was ripped from his mind as two Narutos appeared out of his side in the same posture. Then those two created two more clones and the process continued while Ace could only watch in amazement. Saying Naruto was a bit faster than Ace was an understatement, Naruto was easily faster than him, you could clearly tell this by looking at this feat.

He mentally shook his head as the Narutos stopped multiplying after completely surrounding him in a circle. Ace turned his head from side to side, trying to find any faults with the copies that could lead to him finding the real Naruto, but failed. All of the clones looked like solid copies and as real as the actual Naruto. There had to be over ten of them, Ace didn't particularly feel like counting them all. They all started moving, either simple movements like rubbing their nose or scratching their ears, or more complex movements like stretching and hopping from their toes. They all seemed to be doing _different_ things as if they had their own minds. The level of speed needed for this must be ridiculous.

" _But he did say it's tiring, he won't be able to keep this up for long. Either way, this should be fun."_

One Naruto called out causing him to turn to face him, "What's wrong, Ace?"

Another called, "Can't find the real me?"

"It's useless,"

"We're all Naruto."

"But at the same time-"

"Only one of us are."

"I'm over here!"

"No, here!"

"Liar! I'm over here!"

"Don't listen to any of them! I'm the real-"

"One!"

"Oi! Shut the hell up! I'm trying to get him to fight me you damn blonde!"

"You're a blonde too, asshole!"

Ace's eye twitched as they all started screaming over each other in an attempt to get Ace to listen to them, which was stupid since they were all the same person! He swore that they were about to fight each other!

" _I never thought someone could argue with themselves…"_ Ace thought, a sweat drop appearing as he watched them take steps towards each other.

Clearing his throat, he spoke, "I hate to interrupt, but if we could get on with this so I can kick your ass and then get some food, I'd be extremely grateful."

Naruto and his clones looked at him in annoyance, "He still thinks he can beat me?"

"I'll show him."

A single blonde charged from the circle and blurred in a zigzag pattern towards him. Ace took a step towards the blonde as a punch was thrown towards him. He tilted his head to the side and watched as it passed by him before raising his elbow and smashing it into the blonde's jaw.

It passed right through and the clone faded into the air, " _Damn...A copy."_

He heard the sound of quickly approaching footsteps from two sides behind him and jumped into the air as two blondes lashed out with a synchronized roundhouse kick. Flipping in mid air, he grabbed the shoulders of both blondes and watched as his hand passed through one while his other held something physical.

He smirked before jumping off his shoulder and bringing down his heel as he flipped over from his handstand position. His heel smashed the blonde's skull and cursed as his leg went _through_ the blonde.

" _Damn. He switched. But when did he have time to do that?"_

He didn't get a chance to ponder on his thoughts as multiple clones started jumping towards him. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he hopped backwards, a blond smashing into his previous spot a moment later, before crouching. A smirk made its way on his face as a fist was thrown where his head was previously located before he brought his hand up and hooked two fingers into his fist. Ace pulled forward and flipped the blonde towards the ground before unhooking his fingers. The blonde smashed into the ground before disappearing causing Ace to sigh in disappointment. He _felt_ a physical hand so why did he disappear when hitting something?

He hopped into the air and landed on his hands, in between a circle of clones. Before they even had a chance to react, Ace began spinning on his hands, windmill kicking through all the clones. He clicked his tongue when his feet didn't hit flesh before hopping off of his hands as a blonde appeared in front of him. He cursed as the blonde brought up his leg to smash his jaw and just managed to tilt his head backwards enough to feel wind flow across him as he dodged the uppercut.

His eyes widened, " _This was the first time I felt wind move because of his attacks. That one is real!"_

But before he could act on his thoughts, the blonde brought his heel down. Ace crossed his arms in front of him a moment before the heel smashed into his guard, cracking the ground from the power held in it. He pushed his leg off of him and smirked as the blonde lost his balance before spinning on his heel and smashing his foot into the blonde's side.

Only to curse in annoyance when it went through.

He didn't get a chance to voice his annoyance as another Naruto charged the fire user. The blonde's left arm blurred as his speed increased dramatically, his punch firmly strengthened from his speed as he drove it towards Ace's chest. Ace's eyes widened at the wild movements and different levels of speed shown in the blonde's body, his left arm was moving at least 5 times faster than the rest of his body! The flame human managed to catch the punch with his right hand, but winced as the punch pushed him back slightly. Ace realized it had more power than he'd anticipated. The blonde's speed was truly a deadly weapon, but at least he knew he was dealing with the real Naruto at the moment.

The blonde didn't stop his relentless assault and threw in a left hook aimed at Ace's face, but the Logia user ducked under the punch; dropping down onto the ground before attempting a leg sweep to try to knock Naruto down, but the blond merely jumped up into the air. He didn't stop to breathe and reacted quickly by trying to slam the back of his right foot at the head of the crouched Pirate.

On reflex, Ace raised both his hands, putting them on crossed position just above his head and gritted his teeth. The drop kick from Naruto slammed into his hands and he felt the ground crack below him. His tangible, not feeling the point of using his Logia abilities at the moment, arms strained against the drop kick and he was suddenly extremely thankful for the hellish training Garp put him and Luffy through because if his muscles weren't as conditioned as they were now then that kick would've snapped his arms like a toothpick. The blond packed a fucking _brutal_ kick. Ace briefly pondered how the fight would go if he didn't have his devil fruit powers, it would definitely be harder, but evenly matched. He threw those thoughts away as the ground continued to crack below him.

Ace used his position to push Naruto away from him, pushing off with his guard. The blond didn't resist and flowed with it, landing not too far away. In fact, he landed just near Ace on his left foot, his right foot raised high up in the air. He spun around, attempting a powerful high kick on the side of the logia user, but Ace ducked under the punch.

In an impressive burst of speed, Ace took a single step forward under Naruto's raised foot and drove his right fist straight at Naruto's gut, but it was blocked by Naruto's left hand.

The right hand of Naruto flashed forward in another startling change of speed and attempted to slam his fist into Ace, but the Pirate quickly stepped back, avoiding the hit. The fist slammed down onto the ground, cracking it. Ace took advantage of the situation and twisted into mid air before landing a powerful kick straight on Naruto's forehead...But it went straight through.

Ace's eyebrow twitched, all that effort and not a single hit was landed on either of the fighters. Excitement threatened to take hold of Ace's body as the fight got more and more exciting. Fights like these...They made him feel _alive._

He cleared his mind as two more clones sped towards him before he steadied his feet on the ground, his body positioned horizontally as they sent punches at him. He stepped towards the one on his right and slammed his palm into the clone's elbow causing its punch to divert from its original target. He grabbed the clone by its arm and swung it towards the other one, throwing a quick jab to his stomach, before letting go as they hit each other, not even realizing he hit flesh for the first time in this battle until the clones were on the other side of the clearing.

The clones smashed into the tree before fading into the air, but not before Ace saw a somewhat bruised stomach on Naruto. Ace's eyes lit up at that fact before they narrowed in confusion, he managed to hit Naruto, but what made that attack so different from the last few? He groaned mentally, this clone business was getting rather confusing. Looking around he noticed now that every other Naruto had a bruise on his stomach which definitely wasn't there before.

Two more clones walked up to him and spoke at the same time, "You seem a bit confused as to how you hit me? I'll tell you my little secret. Basically any clone that moves is me, and if you can hit me while I'm moving and haven't left that body yet then you hit _me._ So the best position is to hold on tight once you grab me because I won't be able to disappear if that happens. If you let go even once, I can get away, leaving an afterimage in my place. _"_

Ace nodded his head, that made a lot more sense! Basically any clone that moves is him and if he can hold and hit him then his attack will be able to hit him. All the other clones that are still at the sidelines are the shadows that Naruto left behind when moving. He nodded at him, "Why tell me your weaknesses?"

Naruto smirked, "Well, even if you have it...I won't get hit again."

Ace barely managed to fall into a backbend as a Naruto appeared in front of him with a roundhouse kick. He quickly did a backflip to get away from his current position and placed his arms in front of him in a cross as a new clone smashed its heel into his chest sending him flying back down.

Ace didn't need to turn around to know that clones were on the ground beneath him, preparing to dish out a beating the moment he landed.

Unfortunately, he wasn't that easy.

He caught the leg that sent him flying down in the first place and swung him downwards. Flipping from his position he was now falling on top of the clone before sending a quick jab to the clone's head to see if it was a fake. Clicking his tongue as the clone faded away, he saw there was only a few feet left before he landed.

Two clones jumped into the air to meet him, but he simply smirked before fire exploded from his feet causing him to fly forward with great speed. His hands grasped a physical Naruto face and smashed him into the ground, letting go the moment before he hit the ground. He cursed in annoyance, he wasn't supposed to let go! Ace frowned as both clones faded once hitting the ground and, as such, caused no damage to the earth at all.

Footsteps came from behind him and he quickly knocked a physical fist away from his face. Quickly throwing a counter jab, surprise sparked in his eyes as it was caught by a _different_ Naruto.

Naruto-the first clone he knocked away-appeared in front of his stomach and smashed his knee into his materialized stomach. He didn't have enough time to let out a breath as two more punches followed the knee causing him to cough out air. Gritting his teeth, he fell downwards as a clone attempted to kick his face in from his back. Gripping the clone that held his fist, he swung himself back up and smashed his head through all three clones and let a satisfied smile grow on his face as his forehead smash into a physical nose.

The real Naruto let go of his hand to reach for his nose, but Ace never let him. He quickly grabbed Naruto's shirt and smashed his fist into his stomach and felt a surge of satisfaction flood through his body as he coughed out blood. He followed it with an elbow to his chin and his hands moved quickly, grabbing Naruto by his head and slamming him down into his knee, but Naruto blocked it by crossing his palms in front of him. Ace let go of his head and grabbed the blonde's wrist, a smirk taking place on his face, "Try to run now, whiskers."

He felt Naruto grip his wrist before moving towards him, sending kicks and punches towards him while Ace did his best to avoid and retaliate. They danced around each other, their movements wild yet graceful at the same time. Ace hopped into the air and sent a roundhouse kick towards the blonde face, but he simply titled his head back before bringing his leg up to smash Ace's elbow. The freckled boy spun in midair to avoid the blow and had to push off the ground quickly to avoid the axe kick that followed. Without giving either of them time to recuperate, Ace sent fists flying towards Naruto, who simply tilted his head at the last moment to avoid each blow. They repeated their dance, until Ace was meeting the blonde's knee strikes with his own and was about to send him an uppercut when Naruto raised his fist in a burst of speed. Suddenly, Naruto's fist flickered and then disappeared. Ace blinked in confusion and, before he could even open his eyes, a fist smashed into his cheek, causing him to let go of Naruto's wrist.

Ace cursed in annoyance, desperately sending a high kick towards Naruto's jaw in hopes that he didn't switch again, but it went right through the blonde.

Cursing in annoyance, " _He switched again."_

Ace heard steps coming up behind him and sent a backwards roundhouse behind him. Naruto was forced to raise both his hands in defence and Ace cursed when he realized he would block it in time. Immediately, flames shot out of his leg causing him to spin in the other direction in great speed. Ace lashed out with a right rooted kick straight at the surprised blonde's forehead. His surprise was so great that he couldn't disappear in time and the kick collided with his forehead, easily breaking through his incomplete guard and sending him flying backwards.

Ace wasn't done yet, not giving Naruto a chance to recuperate, he flashed above the blond with flames spewing out of his feet for a burst of speed, and hit him with a combination of kicks and punches. This was enough to send Naruto rocketing towards the hard ground with so much force that there was a resounding boom as the blond hit the ground.

Ace didn't let up. He sped down towards the downed blonde with the intent of crashing into his chest, but Naruto managed to roll out of the way before acting quickly and sweeping Ace's feet. Naruto was quick to get on his feet to slam his back heel on the chest of the off-balance Pirate causing Ace to hit the ground painfully and bounce back up like a rubber ball. Naruto quickly grabbed Ace's right root, twisting around as he lifted up the Pirate before throwing him across the clearing like a bullet, but, like Ace, Naruto was relentless. Blood dropped down his face and bruises covered his entire body from Ace's assault, but he still moved. He danced through the air like a leaf, crossing the distance between himself and Ace in an instant and leaving afterimages in his wake.

Naruto flashed in front of Ace, whom tried to protect his front by placing his hands in front of himself to avoid the punishing blow that was about to be delivered to him, but Naruto was faster. Naruto flashed forward with his right fist and slammed it into Ace's gut with so much force that Ace coughed up a mouthful of saliva. But even with the punishing blow, Ace reacted before he was sent flying. Wrapping his arms around Naruto's head, he smashed his knee as hard as he could into Naruto's face. The blonde couldn't even fly backwards because of Ace's grip before another few shots following the knee to the face. Ace finally let go in the hopes of delivering an axe kick, but cursed when his kick went through his body, the blonde took the chance to run away.

Ace was about to take a few moments to catch his breath from the rough exchange that just happened, but he never got a chance when Naruto's voice yelled out, " **Kaiken!"**

Ace wasn't capable of gritting his teeth in time and blood flew out of his mouth as a fist smashed into his stomach and sent him stumbling backwards. Grasping his stomach, his head shot up to find the blonde, but he wasn't close to him, no, he was on the other side of the field smiling at him.

He swore if someone else was watching all they would see was sweat bursting from his forehead as another punch smashed into him followed by two shots delivered to his stomach. He flew backwards from the force pushed upon him and his back smashed into a tree. He barely managed to open his eyes before more punches rained down on his body and he looked forward, through the onslaught, and saw the blonde standing in an offensive position. Ace quickly jumped back onto his feet as the punches ended and looked towards the blonde.

Ace looked at him carefully, watching every move he took, and slowly lifted his hands out of his pockets as the blonde spoke once more, audible even to him on the other side of the field, " **Kaiken!"** Ace widened his eyes as the familiar motion of the blonde's hand flickered before disappearing and then he felt a familiar fist dig into his stomach that sent him flying backwards...again. It was just like the time he got out of his grip!

Ace quickly flipped over in the air to catch his balance before landing in a crouch on the ground while Naruto grinned at him, "You like it? I call it the 'flicker fist'. It's basically just a lightning fast punch that can hit from long-distance." Naruto went into an offensive position centered around his right fist, "Here...Have some more!"

His right fist flickered and Ace turned intangible just in time as he felt fists fly straight through him and towards the tree behind him. They almost sounded like bullets from the way they smashed through his body. Once he felt the fists stop passing through him he turned around, fire rippling across his body and returning it back into its normal shape. He whistled once turning around, the attacks seemed to easily tear down the tree behind him.

He heard Naruto groan behind him, "Damn...I forgot that you're a living hack."

Ace's eyebrow twitched, "I'm a living hack? You're left arm defies the rules of Logia users! If anything _I'm_ natural and _you're_ the hacker!"

Naruto didn't deign him with an audible response, but, instead, answered by multiplying himself once more, albeit this time he didn't circle Ace, no, he put all of them in a row facing him.

He grinned, "Jiggle your way out of this!" Each of the blondes went into an offensive posture centered around their left fist, "I'm using my left fist this time…"

All of the blonde's fists flickered and reappeared before doing the action over and over again. They seemed to be preparing for something bigger; realizing this Ace's hand turned into flames and he pointed it at the ground, " **Hiken!"** The flames smashed and ate through the ground as the Narutos' arms flickered again and again. He saw them finally still and all their eyes locked onto him.

Naruto roared, " **Reikodan (Flicker Shotgun)."**

Ace heard the air _crack_ and didn't bother waiting around, he quickly jumped into the hole he created with the use of his fire and fell facing the trees behind him. He felt some type of force pass by him, almost like a pressure or like gravity, but heavier. The moment passed and his eyes widened in amazement as Naruto's fists began to level the area behind him. Tree after tree were plowed through until a couple rows of trees were smashed through completely. Between the destruction caused by Ace and Naruto, they probably destroyed a bit more than half the forest.

Feeling the barrage stop, Ace hopped out of his hole, under the cover of the debris that were floating in the air thanks to Naruto's last attack, and lifted his index fingers, " **Higan!"** Bullets made out of fire fired off his fingers and nailed each clone in their forehead bringing their demise as they faded away.

He looked from side to side, attempting to find the real Naruto, but it seemed he didn't need to put all that effort in. He shot his head towards the sky as a familiar blonde roared, "It's over, Ace!"

Naruto was falling down towards him like a bullet, his left arm reappearing and disappearing as he prepared for another shotgun attack.

"You can't hide from this!"

The Naruto in the sky flickered before completely disappearing. Instantly copies started to appear all over the place before eventually taking over the entire field. These weren't like the past few clones, there were a lot this time. There had to be _hundreds_ of them all standing on the clearing, sitting on the trees, and even falling from the sky. It was amazing. They all held their arms and flickered, but it seems they were a lot more faulty. You could see them flickering as if they were barely being maintained.

"I may not be able to appear in most of these...but I'll be in a lot of them and I'll be able to fire from all of these at least once in a certain amount of time. Which one will I strike from first, Ace!"

They all charged him, moving at a speed that would make a train jealous, but Ace wasn't worried. In fact, he was smirking under his hat, "A genius plan...Really. You move so fast that all of these clones would be dangerous since you could be any of them at any time. This would be a terrible situation…" Flames licked off of his body and slowly swirled around him like a vortex while his hands stayed in his pockets, "If I weren't a Logia User. You should've kept it smaller, it wouldn't be so easy to catch you otherwise. But I suppose it's time to finish this. You're strong, but you're not nearly strong enough to defeat me…"

The clones were inches away from his body when Ace exploded in a column of flames with a simple whisper of, " **Kagero!** " Flames erupted around him and enveloped every clone in the clearing, not even a sound escaped their mouths as the roaring flames drowned their screams. The whole forest was consumed by light as if a second sun had grown on the ground, which wasn't far from the truth. The light was blinding, but eventually it died out. The ground was _scorched._ Even more so than before, even the crater that was created by Naruto was black with ash. The clearing was now empty, not any sign of the hundreds of Naruto that were there before. The flames must've destroyed all the clones causing them to fade away...All but one who laid on the ground with severe burns in the center of the crater.

Ace walked towards the fallen blonde, his steps making a crunching sound as he walked upon the scorched grass, and grinned, "A good fight, but without a devil fruit you won't be able to beat me. You're strong, if I didn't have my devil fruit it would've been a close fight, but, unfortunately for you, I did. If I was going all out you wouldn't have been able to touch me or even keep up with me." Ace kneeled before him, "This isn't me being cocky or anything like that. It's a fact. You're not strong enough to beat me right now."

"Shut...Up," Ace heard the muffled words whispered into the ground. "You think I didn't know that. I knew from the beginning that you were stronger than me…"

Suddenly, all his frustration, all his emotions he's been shoving down ever since he woke up decided to appear now in full force. His eyes burned with unshed tears as he accepted his situation, not that he lost this fight, but that his memories were truly _gone_ and he was left with absolutely _nothing_ besides a void he didn't know how to fill. It was like a snake was coiled around him, wrapping around his entire body and consuming his strength. It looked for weakness and now, now it was preying on his entire body.

Naruto's fingers dug into the ground and he clenched his hand into fists, "But...I can't _allow_ myself to be weak anymore." Naruto growled, "I _won't_ let myself be weak anymore." Electricity appeared around Naruto's body and ran from head to toe in erratic bursts. The wind seemed to pick up and swirl around him, picking up the dirt and pebbles that have been created during the battle, and sending them flying.

"Why?" Ace questioned, "Why do you want to be strong?"

The erratic bursts of electricity increased its pace looking almost as if it was dancing around his body, "Because...I _need_ to be strong. I need to be strong enough to accomplish my goals. I need to be strong enough to get my memories back," Naruto banged his head to the ground as an image popped up into his head.

" _What...Is this?"_

It was a woman. A beautiful woman to be exact, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen in his entire life. Deep crimson locks and alluring purple eyes stared at him from within a pool of her own blood which was as red as her hair. A smile-soft, gentle, and loving-laid on her face, she was looking at him. She _loved_ him. Why was she smiling when she was dead? It didn't make sense. His eyes burned from held back tears, but he couldn't understand why he was crying. He gazed into those soft purple eyes and something seemed to grasp at his heart and clench it painfully. He couldn't remember a name, he couldn't remember anything about the woman before him except for a single word that popped up within his mind.

" _Kaa-san…"_

"...So I don't lose anyone ever again."

Ace spoke, his usual cheery voice suddenly appearing emotionless, "Then what are you going to do about it?"

A single glowing blue eye opened from the shadows of his bangs. Electricity seemed to be pouring out of it like a faucet while the wind picked up until it was swirling around them like a vortex. It started to rain heavily as if a hurricane was about to hit the forest they were in and Ace looked up to see angry black clouds covering the entire sky. They bristled with electricity and sent rageful winds and sorrowful tears from their bodies.

Naruto spoke, "I'll get stronger...Stronger than anyone. I'll fulfil my ambition, I'll find my memories, and...I'll never lose anyone again. I'll get stronger and stronger. I'll keep getting stronger until I'm strong enough to," Crimson locks flashed in his minds and pierced his heart causing him to feel as if someone was holding his heart with their hands, "To protect everyone I care about."

" _And burn the fucking government to the ground while I'm at it."_

He heard a body hit the ground next to him and lie out beside him, "Well...You definitely took a big step towards that today."

Naruto looked at him, feeling slightly better by letting it all out, and spoke, "What do you mean?"

Ace gave him an amused smile, "Look at your body."

And Naruto did...And gasped. Lightning danced around his body, rageful winds swirled around him like clothing, and rain poured down madly causing him to look up. The entire sky was covered by black storm clouds. When he said 'entire sky' he really meant the _entire_ sky. The blue sky was gone from the world, it was covered completely by storm clouds which were dropping rain and lightning down upon the earth heavily.

"No...Way," Naruto whispered.

"Yup," Ace said with a grin, "At first, I thought you were simply lightning, but it seems I was wrong. No storm cloud could cover the entire sky," Ace looked at him, "You're the sky itself. You ate the **Sora Sora no Mi!** You can create _storms_ -lightning, wind, rain, hail-anything that's a storm you can create!"

Naruto took in all that information with an amazed grin on his face and tried to move...But found that he couldn't even move a limb. He sighed, "You really did a number on me...Bastard. Just wait! Once I can use this power...I'll kick your ass so hard!" His eyes widened in realization, "Wait...This means I lost…"

Ace grinned at him, "You sure did!"

Naruto didn't bother replying, he simply looked at the sky with a glum expression, " _I stick by my word,"_ He let out a bitter laugh, " _So much for achieving my dream and ambition. Now I have to live for Ace's dream and his alone…"_ Red locks flashed before his eyes, and suddenly his chest hurt more than ever before, " _...Damn it!"_

"Ouch!" Naruto groaned, when an elbow smashed into his side, "What the hell!"

"Why are you so glum?" Naruto's face lost its agitation and looked up at Ace, "We're going to achieve your dream and wishes as well!" Naruto looked at him in a bewildered fashion, "We'll get back all your memories and we'll figure out what those symbols on your arms mean! We'll do it together, since you're my friend and, most especially, part of my Nakama!" 

Naruto looked at him in disbelief before it slowly changed into a somewhat fond expression as the minutes passed by. They laid out beside each other with rain pounding upon their bodies and Naruto bursted out in hearty laughter. Tears burned in his eyes from laughing so hard and he held his stomach as it became difficult to breath.

" _Friends...huh? That...Doesn't sound too bad."_

The word 'friend' seemed to light a warmth in him, something that he felt like he was missing alongside with his memories. It was lit again and it burned brightly inside of him, so hot it felt like there was a sun inside of him, bright and warm.

" _Not bad at all."_

Naruto elbowed Ace in the side, "Don't try to act so cool...Captain."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **This chapter didn't come out** _ **exactly**_ **how I wanted to, but I suppose it's good enough to get the story moving; albeit, the fight scene got a bit lazy as I wrote it. It was also a bit meatier than I expected, I usually like to keep my chapters around the 10k mark, but this was almost 20k.**

 **Anyways, the next chapter will conclude the Prologue Arc and then, finally, the New Beginnings Arc will start which is where Naruto and Ace begin their adventure.**

 **Anyways, how did you like it? If you liked it make sure you drop a review, favorite, follow, I'd appreciate it.** **If I get 70 reviews or more in total (First and Second chapter) I'll get the next chapter up in two weeks.**

 **If you have any questions about the story just ask, I'll answer them next chapter as long as they don't contain spoilers.**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **Naruto's Physical Abilities**

 _Zanzoken (Afterimage Technique)_

 _An extremely fast foot working technique capable of leaving copies behind their tracks. A technique anyone is capable of using if fast enough, but Naruto added a small twist to it. Instead of letting the afterimage disperse, he lets it remains by returning to the space he left it at. Because of this it seems like he almost has physical copies, but, in truth, he is only capable of striking from one clone at a time. Consumes stamina quickly._

 _Kaiken (Flicker Fist)_

 _An extremely fast paced punch that from another person's view looks as if their hand disappeared for a moment before reappearing. It can be carried across long distances depending on the force put within it. It can be used in short range, like when Naruto used it to break out of Ace's grip, and long range, when Naruto struck Ace across the field. It's not very strong and is usually used to buy time or as a distraction._

 _Reikodan (Flicker Shotgun)_

 _A deadly use of the flicker fist and is used for damaging purposes. It is a charged version of a flicker fist and its force depends on how long it's charged. Once released, it throws the amount of punches that was charged in a destructive burst of force. Negatives is the time it takes to actually charge up._

 **Naruto's Devil Fruit**

 _Sora Sora no Mi (Sky Sky Fruit)_

 _This devil fruit turns the consumer into the sky itself, capable of using the elements within a storm because you are a living storm that will never die out._

 _No new techniques added this chapter._

 **Remember to leave a Review.**

 **See you next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3: Setting Off

**Yo!**

 **Yeah. I'm terrible at updates. I told myself I wouldn't update until I have two chapters done, but I only wrote this chapter and half of the next chapter before not caring anymore. But on the other hand...I've planned out the entire Past Section of the story. All of the sections are in one story, I'm not going to make it into separate stories.**

 **The Fallen Prince Trinity**

 **Past (Seven Arcs)**

 **Present (No clue)**

 **Time-Skip (Again. No fucking clue.)**

 **I should probably tell you now that this story is going to be** _ **long,**_ **I'm looking at over 1000k...If I decide to finish it anyways (I'm betting against myself. Just food for thought.)**

 **Yay~**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and favorites from the last chapter and welcome to the third chapter of this story! Let's try to breach 100 reviews with this chapter!**

 **Before we start there are a few things I'd like to note which has been a frequent topic in the reviews.** **I suggest reading them!**

 _Flashbacks_

 **Firstly, some people seem to dislike my use of flashbacks while others seems to like it. Well, allow me to explain exactly why I use flashbacks. I use Flashbacks to highlight a certain event that I don't want to write a chapter about since it would only contain one thing that is related to the story. For example, (** **This contains a small spoiler of this chapter, nothing major)** **in this chapter two weeks have passed with Naruto training. I skipped to the end of the two weeks showing how much he improved with a single flashback highlighting an** _ **important**_ **piece of information. If I didn't use a flashback then there would be extra chapters of** _ **useless**_ **information and training that would be completely pointless to the story as a whole, not to mention boring for you readers. Anyways, I find it amusing that people find flashbacks to be pointless information when it is actually saving you from a chapter-ton of useless shit. If you can understand this and you still don't like it, that's fine. Everyone has there own opinions, and you should be happy to hear that flashbacks won't be in every single chapter after this one.** **I think this is going to be the last flashback in a long run of chapters (Not of the past, but of flashbacks)**

 _Naruto joining the Spade Pirates_

 **Next thing to note is Naruto joining the Spade Pirates and, surprisingly, a lot of you seem to hate the idea? While most Naruto stories have him forming his own crew or joining the Straw Hats, I don't want to join the flow, but that doesn't mean he won't have his own crew later on. Whether he stays with the Spade Pirates, joins the Whitebeard Pirates, or forms his own crew, you'll simply have to do one thing to find out. Read. I've never once stated that he would stay in that crew forever or join the Whitebeard Pirates, the only way you can figure that out is if you keep reading. And another another fact that I think is alluding most of you is that Naruto has** _ **Amnesia**_ **. Do you actually think a man with only the basic understanding of himself and the world around him will go off by himself? Do you know how hard amnesia is for people?**

 _Devil Fruit_

 **Next thing to move onto is Naruto's Devil Fruit and, thankfully, most of you love it, but a few of you find it OP as fuck which, I suppose, it is. I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a problem with you all acting as if i didn't** _ **know**_ **that when I put it in. I hate overpowered Naruto stories so, of course, there's going to be a weakness that he'll physically or mentally have to bring him down to everyone else's level. Not to mention the already obvious weakened the fruit has. Also his abilities are based on an anime I watched (And Recently Finished) but you'll find that out later on or maybe you'll put the pieces together and figure it out? There's a HUGE subtle hint in this chapter. Extremely subtle. I doubt any of you will figure it out, but I'm pretty sure early/late 90s kids will have the best chance of figuring it out.**

 **Anyways, enough with that.**

 **Enjoy~**

 **Fallen Prince**

 **Chapter Three**

 _Setting Off_

Strength is such a fragile thing.

Like glass it can easily shatter, but with heat it can be molded into something greater.

That heat, that flame, It can be easily gained and easily lost. Shattering isn't something you can avoid, the moment you acquire strength you will _break_ , you will _change_. The length until your strength shatters depends on one simple concept: drive.

Drive is the heat that makes you stronger, but just because glass is strengthened, it doesn't mean that it can't _shatter_. That drive, your resolve, which pushes you to gain your strength makes the difference between the Heavens and the Earth. Would your strength be crushed when your pride is in shambles, would your strength be lost when you, yourself, are _lost,_ would you forget your strength when you forgot yourself?

So many questions, but all of them so relevant to the concept of strength. Even if all the glass in the world was gathered and hardened by the strongest flame into one object, it would still have a crack, a doubt, it can be influenced and changed.

It can still shatter.

How many hits can you take before it happens? How many hits can you endure before you're molded into a different shape? When is your breaking point? When do you shatter?

But all of this points to a single question.

If you can shatter, then you must have _something_ that can break.

" _What...Is my drive?"_

" **Hisen!** "

The blonde opened his eyes, his thoughts picked up by the wind and dispersing throughout the world as a shower of fireballs sped towards him like a bullet, but Naruto didn't even break a sweat. His blonde hair flowed lazily across his forehead and his hands laid in the pockets of his open blue shirt. An amused smile made its way on his face, days ago he would've been worried on how he would dodge this attack and would've probably ended up burned or even dead.

But now?

Now it was different. He felt a familiar warmth flowing through his body giving him energy, life, and _power._ He grasped it. A smirk crept on his lips...He would win today!

The fireballs were only a couple feet away when his body began sparking and green electricity started to dance around his body. He squeezed his fists and watched, entranced as if this was the first time he was witnessing this, as the electricity around him became more concentrated until his whole fist became _lightning._ Feeling a strange sensation bubble through his body, he quickly embraced it and let it envelope him. He remembered with a fond smile how he first reacted when he tried this originally. Ace wouldn't stop laughing when he yelped-like a girl-as his body started to glow a much brighter green than before. He remembered closing his eyes from the brightness, which he did out of instinct rather than it actually hurting him.

Now his eyes were wide open, unharmed by the brightness that was exuding out of him. Feeling the familiar sensation of 'changing' he let a small smile creep onto his face, " _That was a lot faster than last time."_ He looked down at his new body and grinned, if anyone saw him now they would probably piss their pants.

He was lightning.

His body was lightning. Not just one part, his _entire_ body was _lightning_. A bolt of electricity that was simply sitting there in that one spot. He looked towards his opponent, Ace, and the shower of fireballs that were now only a few feet away, but now it seemed like they were moving in slow motion.

" _I'll get it right this time. I will not hit a tree. I will not hit a tree. I will not hit a tree...or a lake and end up drowning again."_ He remembered those particular memories with distaste, all of those situations happened after he failed this new technique. Of course, he wouldn't fail again! This was the last day he gave himself to learn it and he _refused_ to fail.

He 'stepped' forward.

And completely blitzed the fireballs and Ace; he ended up straight behind Ace with a grin on his face. To everyone else's eyes it looked like it was instantaneous. Like he teleported from one spot to another, but that wasn't the truth. It wasn't _far_ from the truth, but it still didn't make it the truth.

A ⅕ of the second later thunder roared across the sky.

What happened was that he moved extremely _fucking_ fast. To be exact, he was moving at 3,700 miles per second which was the average speed of a lightning bolt...That was fast. His old speed didn't even compare to the speed he had now...Of course, _controlling_ it is a bitch, but that's a story for another day.

" _Success!_ "

They stood back to back as Naruto stomped his left foot into the ground and raised his right leg in the air before sending it flying towards Ace in a backwards roundhouse kick.

Naruto shouted, " **Raiton!** "

Instantly his right leg disappeared under the glow of white/green electricity that covered his entire leg like an electric plating. _Raiton_ was a move that would plate any of his body parts with lightning so it would increase in speed, bulk, power, and, most importantly, _heat._ Naruto threw his thoughts away as his kick picked up speed and moved in the speed of a lightning bolt; unfortunately for Naruto, Ace wasn't simply standing still.

The moment he heard the booming sound of thunder, flames were already rippling across his body and the word was already out of his lips the moment Naruto's leg glowed green, " **Kagero!** "

Naruto cursed when Ace exploded into flames like a volcano and instantly shot backwards to put some space in-between them or get burned. He kept forgetting that Ace could _burn_ him even when he was made out of lightning.

" _Stupid technicalities."_

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't even get a chance to remember _why_ that was because Ace wasn't sitting still any longer, and decided that he would reflect on the reason why once the fight was over.

Ace brought his fist back before throwing it back out like a punch with a shout of, " **Hiken!** " A huge fist of flames sped towards Naruto, but he simply smirked, Ace had his signature move and Naruto had his.

Before he would run from this attack.

Similarly to Ace, Naruto brought his glowing arm back and it began to dance with electricity in erratic patterns. His fist was slowly consumed and encircled by a deathly green glow and an excited grin fell on his face, out of all the moves he created these past two weeks, this one was easily his favorite. His entire arm finally glowed an electric green with white electricity dancing around it before a deadly hum began to sound throughout the air.

Now he would meet it head on.

Naruto roared, " **Raijin!** "

He punched forward, the sound of thunder booming out, and his arm exploded with electricity in the form of a gigantic dragon head, easily bigger than the surrounding trees and rivaling the size of Ace's _Hiken_. It launched off of his arm and extended into the form of a dragon without wings. It flew across the clearing, swerving from side to side uncontrollably and looking very much like a snake with a dragon's head.

It met Ace's attack with the booming sound of thunder and a huge shockwave erupted from the contact of the two titan-sized attacks. They struggled against each other for dominance and all the while, Naruto and Ace were pushing their fists forward in hopes of winning the power struggle.

Sweat started to slide down Naruto's neck as he struggled to keep the battle on. He gritted his teeth and pushed even more energy into his attack with the hopes of a huge final push, but Ace seemed to have the same idea and it remained at a stand still.

The clearing grew thick with heat, a boiling pressure that neither of them could feel due to them being even _hotter_ than the heat itself. Naruto gave one last push and watched as the two attacks started to get sucked into each other and create a huge orb of unstable white energy. It bubbled unevenly and energy seemed to be seeping out of it and flowing across the entire field.

Naruto spotted motion across the field and quickly smashed his fists together, whispering, " **Raiton!** " Both of his arms glowed an electric green and was covered in a plating before he sped across the field towards Ace. Naruto blurred towards him, his eyes catching sight of Ace once again, his fists burning red with fire. They closed the distance between each other quickly and engaged in a heated fist fight. Their arms were nothing more than blurs as blow after blow rained down upon each other with no signs of giving out. For every punch Naruto landed, Ace gave it back just as quick with a cocky smirk.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, he never was a patient man, before hopping backwards and throwing his hand forward. As it moved forward his hand began to get plated with electricity before Naruto finally found it sufficient and shouted, " **Raiton: Vari!** "

His palm exploded with energy, electricity beaming out like a ray of light and shooting towards Ace. _Raiton_ was the first technique he created, but it wasn't _just_ a plating of electricity, it was the building block for all his techniques! From this technique, Naruto was capable of creating a couple extremely useful techniques, _Vari_ and _Raijin_ being two of them.

Unfortunately, he wasn't capable of continuing his thoughts as Ace shouted, " **Kagero!** " A wave of flames met Naruto's ray of energy with a booming shock that sent both of them flying backwards.

Naruto quickly twisted in midair and landed on his feet before taking off in a burst of speed towards his opponent. He saw Ace across the field and followed him as he jumped into the air, a couple feet above the orb of energy. They felt the pull of gravity as they flowed through the air and shot their respective elements out of their feet to resist the force.

For a moment everything was still, they were frozen above the orb, simply staring at each other. The moment quickly ended and they brought their fists back as if they were about to throw a punch. Flames covered Ace's entire fists while Naruto's arm began to spark with white electricity running down his arm and through the air.

The electricity plating Naruto's arm focused and glowed a deathly electric green, a deadly hum sounding through the air like the moment before lightning struck the earth.

Unlike Naruto's, whose element was focused inside of his arm, Ace's fist rippled with flames as if it was about to unleash widespread destruction. The fire rippled dangerously on his fists, growing brighter and larger, while Naruto's glowed a brighter green and the hum in the air grew even more deadly.

They threw their fists forward, their respective elements just inches before hitting each other.

" **Hi-"**

" **Rai-"**

Their fists were just a centimeter away from each other as their voices shouted out towards the world in unison, " **Hiken/Raiken!** "

Ace unleashed his widespread, destructive, fist made out of orange flames while Naruto's fist stayed the same, more focused and precise to the point.

Two glowing fists came into contact with each other and, for a moment, everything was still. Nothing moved, there was no wind or sound of any kind. The moment ended and a shockwave eradicated the area around them from the pure power the two Logia users were emissing. Unfortunately for them, the orb created from their powers laid beneath them and glowed in instability as lights started shooting out of it.

It was about to explode.

But neither of the two fighters cared.

Naruto's much smaller elemental fist easily pierced through Ace's **Hiken,** looking very much like a miniature lightning bolt. Unfortunately, he only pierced through a small point and the huge fist of flames came within inches of his face while Naruto's thunderbolt fist came within inches of Ace's stomach. Naruto simply smirked, it didn't matter if his attack was small...His lightning never hits the same spot twice.

The orb exploded like a volcano and drowned the entire area in a blinding white light. Their attacks were lost in the brightness of the explosion that was caused by their god like powers. Huge shockwaves sounded out around the clearing and the white light reached the end of the area, the orb was about to bring destruction upon their poor, poor, forest.

Then everything disappeared like it wasn't there the first place.

The orb disappeared.

The shockwaves disappeared.

The smoke from their attacks disappeared.

The clearing was back to normal with two groggy looking teenagers lying flat on their backs next to each other in the middle of the clearing. They blinked up at the sky in confusion, they didn't have a clue as to what just happened. Naruto and Ace slowly got off of their backs and sat up with their backs straight before looking at each other. Neither of them had any injuries from their last attack, which didn't make sense since even if the explosion didn't hurt them, their final attacks most definitely would've injured each other. Their eyes moved off of each other and then turned towards the clearing and found that it didn't get destroyed by that giant explosion. No trees were knocked down, no craters were born, the grass didn't even get turned to ash!

After a few moments of silence, Naruto groaned loudly, "Ain-chan!" He whined, "I was about to win! Why did you have to stop us!"

Ace scoffed at him, "Don't be ridiculous! My flames were about to turn you into fried chicken!"

"Would that be before or after I turned you into ash?" Naruto replied with a tick mark growing on his forehead.

"Boys!" A soft, yet commanding voice spoke, "Enough. You're both _idiots._ You could've destroyed the entire island with that final attack! Stop underestimating the powers of the Logia fruits!"

Naruto turned his head to meet the girl who was scolding him, which he just muted out, and gave her a once-over for the first time today. She was beautiful. That much was obvious with a single glance. She was capable of captivating every boy in town every time she walked through without doing a single thing. She was a slender, yet curvaceous young woman with long dark blue hair framing her face. She wore a blue hooded cape over a sleeveless white collar purple top that exposed her stomach, and had on grey shorts, black high heels, and a gun holster on her right leg. Looking closely, Naruto could see an X shaped scar on her right leg from, what he imagined, a tough battle. She had beautiful piercing reddish-brown eyes that drilled into your person and, finally, she was sweating, probably from the amount of effort it took to revert all of their attacks.

He rolled his eyes as she began to scold them and remembered the time he first met her. She used to be so quiet...Well, she was still quite, but now she _scolded_ him. Actually, the first time he met here was actually pretty similar to right now.

She actually taught then something very important...

 _ **XxFallen-PrincexX**_

 _ **Flashback: Week and a half ago**_

" _It's not that hard! Just imagine yourself as lightning, damn it!" Ace said with a hand placed on his temples, rubbing it as he repeated the same sentence over and over again._

 _Naruto snapped back, "It's harder than you think!" Blood flowed down his forehead, bruises were placed all over his body, his breathing was erratic and heavy as his eyes burned in a comical fashion, "Have you ever smashed through tree after tree at over 3,000 miles per second. No, you haven't! Well let me tell you something...IT HURTS!"_

" _Don't be such a pussy."_

" _You are what you eat, dick." Naruto bit out childishly before flipping him off._

 _Ace's eyebrow twitched and he gritted his hands so he didn't 'accidentally' set his friend on fire. He took a deep breath before replying, "How am I supposed to help you if you don't do what I say?"_

" _If I didn't get it right after like 50 tries, it's obviously your fault." Naruto studied his fingernails in disinterest, "Why don't you learn how to give better directions?"_

 _Ace growled out, "I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my ass."_

 _Naruto glared at him, "How about I throw you into a tree at 3,700 miles per second?"_

 _Ace looked at him with fake shock, "You mean you can actually move that fast? Sorry, I was too busy watching you smash into tree after tree to actually notice that small detail."_

" _If you're trying to be a smartass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise you're just an ass."_

 _Ace grew a tick mark as he stepped towards him, "I'll kill you!"_

 _Naruto stepped forward, his arms glowing an electric green, "Just try it!"_

 _They glared at each other for a few moments before sighing and looking into the forest. This was like the thirtieth time they fought today, they were so similar, but at the same time they were so different._

 _It's why they got along so well...or terribly depending on how you looked at it._

 _Ace groaned, "Just try it one more time." He ignored the call of 'pussy', but did send a glare his way, "If you can't get it this time we can just go eat some food and try tomorrow. We have another week and a half, after all, to get you decent with your powers."_

 _Naruto cracked his neck before removing his shirt, revealing his rather unique features-his chiseled abs and chest, and his scar running down his chest alongside his tattoo that took up his left arm-before stretching slightly._

 _He looked towards Ace, "Can you explain how to transform one more time?"_

 _Ace nodded, "By now you should be able to always feel that warmth, that energy, flowing inside of you since you_ are _that energy. It is a part of your being." Ace continued, "You can't think of it as some type of inner power or adrenaline. It's you. It's the same as using an arm or a leg, it's a part of your body. Command your body to will yourself to change, to become intangible, as if you were telling your arm to move."_

 _Naruto nodded in understanding._

 _He really did understand it, it was simply disorientating to actually do it. Picturing some strange energy as an arm...It was such a weird feeling to actually act upon._

 _But, nonetheless, he shut his eyes and stood still. He steadied his breathing and placed his hands in his pants pockets. He felt the fabric under his fingers as he pulled upon the warmth inside of his body. This question always popped up in his mind every single time he transformed._

 _Where did his clothes go when he transformed?_

 _Everytime he became his element, they disappeared, but when he turned back-usually after hitting a couple trees-his clothes were always back on his body. Did anything touching his body get turned into an element too?_

 _He felt his grasp on the warmth flowing inside of his body 'loosen' and slapped himself mentally. He couldn't get distracted! He would not hit another row of trees because of a last minute thought! He wouldn't fail again...He wouldn't give Ace another reason to fall on his ass laughing._

 _His thoughts vanished as he willed the warmth to envelop his body like he was telling an arm to raise. He could understand where Ace was coming from, it certainly felt like he was moving an arm, but it was just so...illogical. Naruto didn't know why he thought that way, like it was ludicrous, but, nonetheless, he accepted it as the truth no matter how much his mind told it was impossible._

 _Afterall, all he had to do was open his eyes and see that it was the truth. His eyes...Actually, did he have eyes when he was an element? He threw the thought away, he observed the sight that was before his eyes. His entire body was glowing an electric green in the element of lightning._

 _He was a breathing lightning bolt._

 _Well, actually, now that he thought about it, lightning bolts didn't need to breath to exist so, technically, he wasn't breathing since he didn't need air. A smirk took place on his face...on his lightning bolt at the thought._

 _Electricity danced around his body as he stood there, not moving a muscle or even twitching for he knew that even the slightest movement would send him flying in some direction._

 _He looked at his body in amazement, he was a living lightningbolt. He felt the power flowing through his entire body, power so great that he could probably wipe out the entire forest-what was left of the forest, anyways-with a cough. His body shone brightly, but his eyes weren't bothered by it. He was brighter than anything else right now, he was faster than anything else right now, he had more power than anything else right now…_

 _He was lightning._

 _And this time he wouldn't mess up._

 _He gazed at his target, a small path between two lanes of trees hundreds of meters away. He'd get through that, he wouldn't be sent in a completely different direction, and he would stop!_

 _Unfortunately, that was hopeful thinking._

 _He willed himself forward and was sent flying forward at a rate that exhilarated him everytime he did this. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, no, it was like the entire world was frozen besides him._

 _It was beautiful._

 _He danced across the clearing and made it through the path he was targeting. Unfortunately, his leg, almost unnoticeably, twitched...And he was immediately sent flying towards his right and smashed into his first tree._

" _Fuck me!"_

 _He easily ripped through that tree and every other tree that followed. Of course, it didn't hurt. It couldn't hurt him, he was lightning. Nothing could injure him._

 _He felt his grasp on the technique loosen._

 _Of course, it_ did _hurt when he turned back into his physical body and plowed through tree after tree in the speed of lightning._

 _It hurt like a bitch._

 _He desperately grasped at the energy buzzing in his body as the lightning started to disperse and leave his tangible body behind._

 _And then, without a single noise, his human body was back, skin and bones and everything else. Luckily for him he only smashed into one more tree before flying across what he assumed was another clearing judging by the lack of trees he was smashing through. His hearing, enhanced by his devil fruit, gave him a radar-like-sense of the entire island. It was disorientating, but, as he made his way through the air, he heard the sound of pouring water before his sense of hearing was overwhelmed by the entire island._

 _Noises invaded his head, whispers, coughs, casual conversations, children playing, people walking through the streets, the sound of hearts beating. It was overwhelming and he quickly stopped taking in the waves that flowed through the air. He still wasn't good with his hearing...At all._

 _His thoughts vanished as he flew through the air and smashed into an ice cold liquid. His mind immediately guessed what it was while his eyes widened in horror. Water! He landed in a lake of all places! Thoughts raced across his mind to figure out a way out of this current predicament, but he couldn't think of one! He couldn't swim anymore! Damn it! He was going to drown!_

 _He started pulling on the energy in his body, maybe he could vaporize this entire lake with a huge blast of lightning? Electricity danced across his skin, but before he could test out his idea, his luck pulled through once again and he skipped off the water like a skipping stone. He grimaced, his back was going to be sore tomorrow. It was like a belly flop, but a hundred times worse!_

 _His stomach churned as his body flipped through the air like a ragdoll, he placed a hand over his mouth hoping that it would placate his uneasy stomach. As the seconds passed by, he felt the feeling in stomach increase, but, thankfully, he started to slow down and, assumingly, shot off the lake judging by the way he wasn't hitting the water any longer. A victorious smile barely made its way on his face before his head smashed into yet another object, but this time he wasn't able to keep moving._

 _In fact, his motion was completely stopped._

 _He would've opened his mouth if it weren't for the fact that he knew he would throw up his stomach once it found an opening; so, instead, he decided to wait and get his bearings. His head was spinning to the point that he couldn't tell what direction he was facing and he couldn't order his thoughts in a way that sounded coherent._

 _He exhaled through his nose before placing his head on the ground, feeling the world spin around him in the black depths of his eyes. His head shook groggily and he pulled on the grass that laid across the ground to keep his sense of direction. Grass is down. Opposite of down is up. He felt the sensation of spinning disappear from his body and let out a relieved sigh._

 _He noted curiously that the object was still holding him down to the ground on his head before opening his eyes and saying the first thing that came to his mind at the sight before him._

" _Bear panties."_

 _It was indeed a pair of bear panties worn by smooth, creamy, long legs that could run for miles with the said leg holding his face to the ground. Which also meant that she was the one who stopped his motion when he was previously moving_ extremely _fast; although, he didn't linger on the thought as he continued to take in the woman's appearance. She was a slender, yet curvaceous young woman with long dark blue hair framing her face. She wore a blue hooded cape over a sleeveless white collar purple top, and had on a dark purple skirt, black high heels, and black leggings that ran from mid thigh to her heels. She had beautiful piercing reddish-brown eyes that drilled into the blonde's head and he easily understood that she was gorgeous._

 _Of course, he couldn't linger on those thoughts as she lifted up her foot and slammed it back into his face with a dusting of red covering her cheeks, her lips opening to allow a soft voice to make its entrance, "Pervert."_

" _Wait! You're wro-"_

" _Shut up, pervert." Her voice was emotionless, but her eyes seemed to be angry...Although, he couldn't quite tell. She was a really good Kuudere...Tsundere?_

" _Ouch! Damn i-Don't hit me again!" Naruto protested as he flipped out from under her before she could slam her heel into his face, "It was the first thing I saw and I just said it!"_

" _That's exactly what a pervert would say. Pervert."_

" _It takes one to know one!" Naruto bit back, his arms crossed across his chest._

" _You just admitted you were a pervert." The blue haired girl stated bluntly, "You're disgusting."_

 _Naruto groaned, "I am not a pervert! Would you just listen to me!"_

 _She looked at him for a moment and Naruto almost sighed in relief...Only to choke on his sigh as she pulled out the gun resting on her thigh and pointed it at him, "Die."_

 _And promptly pulled the trigger._

 _And Naruto promptly jumped to the side so he wouldn't die, "You're insane! Guns can really hurt people you know!"_

 _She blinked at him in mock amazement, Naruto almost clapped at the sheer level of sarcasm in that single movement, "Really? I was shooting you because I wanted to heal all the bruises on your body. Pervert."_

 _Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "I could do without the sarcasm."_

" _And I could do without you being a pervert, but, alas, neither of us can get what we want. Pervert. Disappear." She spoke bluntly, her voice never losing that cool touch and calm that has been apparent this entire conversation._

" _Kuudere confirmed," Naruto thought to himself._

 _Naruto's eyebrow twitched yet again before shouting out, his finger pointing towards her, "It's your own fault for showing it to me, you exhibitinost! Why would you stand over a person like that? It's obvious you_ wanted _to show it to me!"_

 _For the first time today, her face flushed red as she opened for mouth, only to close it again. Naruto hid a triumphant grin as she failed to come up with a response or, perhaps, she realized she was wrong, but, nonetheless, he would continue his strike, "You're not even blonde either! Bakaaaa!"_

 _Naruto simply grinned as her eyebrow twitched before her soft voice came out as cool and icy as ever, "You say it as if blondes are stupid? If you, a blonde, say that blondes are stupid that means you're calling yourself stupid, stupid. Pervert. Go drown in your own stupidity."_

 _Naruto gaped at her, "Who says that to people!"_

" _Obviously I do." She tilted her head to the side, "You really are blonde, aren't you."_

 _He tilted his head to the side and mocked her, "Obviously I am. You really can see, can't you."_

 _Cold red eyes clashed with defiant blue eyes and an almost "peaceful" calm came between the two of them...Until she spoke once more just for the record apparently, "Pervert."_

 _Naruto groaned, "Stop that! It was an accident! I'm sorry! I won't look at your bear panties ever again." Naruto blinked and looked at her, "Bear panties? Are you five?"_

 _Her creamy cheeks dusted red and he couldn't help the swelling of pride that bursted in his chest in result, his pride in himself running so deep that he almost missed her cool words, but he definitely heard embarrassment mixed within them, "...They were a present." Seeing his unimpressed his eyes, her blush increased and she stated, "They really were. I'm not lying."_

 _Naruto rolled his eyes before an amused smile made its way on his face, "Hai. Hai. I believe you. That means you should believe me when I said it was an accident!" He held his hand towards her, "Truce?"_

 _She stared at him for a moment before sighing and reaching towards his hand as Naruto looked towards her closely. He couldn't help, but find her familiar for some reason and spoke again, "Hey...Have we met befo-"_

 _He cut himself off as he saw the familiar red glow of fire rippling through the air and shooting towards him...And the woman's back...Meaning she was completely unaware that she was about to become Fried Human. Ace probably thought that was him...Dumbass. Naruto immediately reacted, cursing Ace in his mind for he was the only one who could manipulate fire like that. He grabbed the woman's wrist, ignoring her cute 'meep' of surprise, before pulling her towards him and shooting off to the side as the stream of fire shot towards him._

 _When he said shot off, he really meant it, he jumped like a rocket, but that meant hitting the ground was that much worse. He spun around so he would take on most of the impact before they hit the ground and began rolling on the ground, closing their eyes all the while._

 _His back finally hit the grass and he slid across the ground, picking up dirt all the while, before he finally spun to a stop. His head was spinning, but he could tell that the woman was under him, and groaned in annoyance._

 _He placed his hands on something and pushed himself off, his eyebrow raising at the texture of the object he was holding with his right hand. He felt something soft under his right hand and gave it an experimental squeeze. He raised an eyebrow. Soft and big. He gave it another squeeze and noted that it was extremely warm as well. Letting his curiosity take him, he slowly opened his eyes in a disgruntled manner and stared down at the object below him. His eyes widened while blood rushed to his cheeks as the sound of thunder boomed across the sky as he looked at the object below him._

 _It turned out it wasn't an object._

 _It was a person._

 _A young woman in fact._

 _An extremely attractive woman._

 _An extremely attractive, awake woman._

 _An extremely attractive, awake, familiar, blue haired woman._

 _An extremely attractive, awake, familiar, and angry woman who was looking at him with something that didn't look like love._

 _Naruto let out a nervous laugh, "It was an accident..."_

 _Unfortunately, she didn't believe him._

 _And nailed him in the balls with her knees with an embarrassed yelp, "Pervert!"_

 _Naruto grasped at his precious jewels and stumbled backwards, "I...Said...it...was...an ACCIDENT!"_

" _You said that last time too! You disgusting excuse for a human being! Filthy piece of flesh!"_

 _Naruto knew she was just angry and probably didn't mean it; hell, anyone would be angry for being groped, even if it was an accident._

" _Besides," Naruto thought to himself, "You know the saying: Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt m-"_

 _The blue haired girl continued, "Filthy bottom-feeding scum of the earth that should just crawl under a stone and die."_

 _Naruto looked at her in pained shock, "O-okay...That actually hurt my feelings a little."_

 _She didn't pay any attention to his antics and quickly shot off from the ground, his eyes following her chest as it_ jiggled _when she hit the ground as he kneeled on the ground before her. He shrugged, even if he was kicked in the balls he was still a man. And the woman in front of him was sexy. He felt a bump on his lower regions and let out a shaky grin, "You're still okay, buddy. You took the hit and you're still a man. A monster of a man. You're a god among your kind."_

 _She sped towards him._

 _And Naruto knew fear for the first time in his life...What he assumed it was the first time of his life, anyways._

 _He lost his memories after all._

 _She looked like the devil, himself, as she ran towards him with the speed of a bullet. He quickly shot off of his feet and jumped backwards, waving his hands in front of him, "Wait! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But you shouldn't be so embarrassed! It was a accident…And you have very nice boobs!"_

" _I wish I never saved you, you pervert!"_

 _He didn't, or more like he couldn't, linger on those words as her arm became enveloped in a strange pink hue. It took the shape of a small sphere surrounding her entire fist and Naruto took this as his time to leave. He really didn't want to find out what that did..._

 _She sped towards him as Naruto's body turned an exotic green. Green electricity rippled off his body until green/white flames surrounded his body in some type of aura while black electricity pulsed around his body dangerously._

 _(_ _ **A.N. - Imagine Super Saiyan 2, but green (Ulquiorra's Green Energy from bleach) or just think of the Raikage's Lightning Cloak)**_

 _He grinned, he got it faster this time...Not to mention it looks a lot different from before. He looked towards the girl who was now moving in slow motion like the rest of this world. She wouldn't even know what happened until he disappeared, but he'd be on the other side of the island before that happens. He winked at her before shooting off backwards, a lightning bolt dancing across the forest. He didn't bother trying to dodge the trees, he wasn't good at maneuvering his body yet, hell, he ate shit every time he even transformed into lightning. So, yes, he didn't bother dodging the trees, but, instead, plowed through every single tree in his path with a grin on his face._

 _He was doing it!_

 _He was controlling his body while he was in lightning...And he wasn't eating shit! Maybe it was the emergency he was facing that made him capable of moving as lightning or maybe he just had a lucky break, but, either way, he was thrilled, even Ace was going to be happy._

 _Speaking of Ace, "Naruto! Where are yo-" He never got out any more as Naruto's head-Made out of lightning-smashed into Ace's stomach. Naruto watched Ace's face change from confusion, to disbelief, to horror as spit came flying out of his mouth. Naruto cursed as he instantly lost control of his body and turned into a human once more, their bodies shooting off towards the clearing as their bodies tangled up with one another._

 _They ended up back where they started in the clearing, except, this time, they were bruised and tangled up together on the forest floor. He didn't know how long he was lying there, but it felt like a while. Naruto groaned in pain before opening his eyes groggily, "Damn it, Ace…I had it down too!" His vision cleared and he saw that he was on top of Ace in the same fashion as he was on the chick from before. His hand was placed on Ace's chest while the said man was glaring at him in righteous anger._

 _Before Naruto could even say 'sorry', he was interrupted by a very familiar voice, "I came here to continue hitting you, but, after seeing this, I think I believe that it was an accident." Naruto and Ace tilted their heads to look at the girl who was approaching them, a girl that Ace seemed to recognize by the widening of his eyes. Naruto sighed in relief, thankfully she didn't seem to be angry anymore. But he never got to say anything as the girl continued, "That or you're bisexual since you groped me and the man you're lying on top of."_

 _It was silent in the clearing for a moment as Naruto looked down at Ace. It did, in fact, look like he was groping Ace, his hand was placed right on top of his chest and his hand was clenched. It could be seen as a sensual, or forceful, scene to any viewer, but that was obviously not the situation, Naruto was straight, that was plain as day. Ace isn't that stu-_

 _His thoughts were interrupted by the increasing look of horror on Ace's face before he pushed him off of his body and jumped into the air, at least 10 feet away from him, and yelled, "Get away from me, pervert!"_

 _Naruto glared at him in annoyance as he got up himself, "First of all, I'm straight." He pointed at Ace, "Secondly, you could make a gay man straight."_

 _Ace glared right back at him, "And your presence makes women become lesbians."_

" _Bitch."_

" _Ass."_

" _Whore."_

" _Slut."_

 _They heard a cough, interrupting their exchange of loving words, and turned to the girl who was looking at them coolly...Although, Naruto swore he saw amusement dancing in her eyes, "I hate to interrupt this...Lover's spat?" Seeing the glares directed in her direction, she stifled a small laugh, before her face returned to her serious persona. Her face was completely emotionless as she turned to Naruto, "You."_

 _Naruto waved, "Me."_

" _Don't you have anything to say?"_

 _Naruto looked at her strangely and thought, "I already said I'm sorry, I said it was an accident...what more does she want?"_

 _Naruto looked at her in a bemused fashion, "...Thank you?"_

 _The pink sphere around her hand returned as her eye twitched, but, before she could say a word, Ace spoke, "You ate a Devil Fruit!"_

 _Naruto turned to Ace before looking back at the girl in front of him, he stepped closer and observed the strange pink hue surrounding her hand. He mouthed an 'O' before grinning, "That's cool! We did too!"_

 _The girl nodded, "That's actually what I'm here to talk about. I'm assuming," She waved her hand at the wide spread of destruction around the clearing, "That you're the one who did this."_

 _Naruto grinned sheepishly, "I'm...Having a bit," He heard Ace cough and his eyebrow twitched, "Of trouble controlling it." He pointed at Ace, "Of course he's a noob too, he just ate his a couple weeks before I ate mine."_

" _I'm using my fruit efficiently, which means you're the only noob here." Ace responded with an amused smile, but, before Naruto could give a retort, he turned to the girl with a grin on his face, "You're the girl who saved Naruto, right?"_

" _If you're talking about the blonde then yes."_

 _Naruto's eyes whipped back towards the girl in shock, "You're the one who saved me?" Seeing her nod in confirmation, he sent her a grateful smile and bowed his head, "...Thank you very much."_

" _Please raise your head..." Naruto looked up and looked at the girl before him, her cheeks had a small, tiny beyond belief, blush that lit up her face and she looked...embarrassed._

" _It seems she can't handle gratitude very well. How cute." Naruto thought with a small smile on his face._

 _He walked forward a step and grinned at her, "My name is Naruto!" He gave an extravagant, exaggerated, bow before coming back up, "Uzumaki D. Naruto!" He pointed behind him, "That's Ace!" He whispered loudly, "He's a bit strange."_

" _You know a whisper is something that's supposed to be quiet," Ace 'whispered' at them before approaching the duo. He smiled at the girl and gave a wave, "Hey! I'm Porcus D. Ace! Feel free to call me Ace though!"_

" _Or Piglet. I'd call him Piglet." Naruto chirped from behind him._

" _My name is Ain."_

 _The blue haired girl gave them a small smile, it would be usually seen as insignificant or not something big, but her smile...seemed so real. Naruto didn't know how to explain it...It was almost like it was her first time smiling in a long time. He was instantly at a lost of words, he didn't know what to say. But the smile disappeared within a second, almost like it wasn't there in the first place, and her serious persona returned strongly, almost as if scolding her for showing a smile...Naruto frowned slightly, he didn't like that. At all. It was almost like she wasn't allowed to show her emotions..._

 _He nodded his head as if he was confirming something, which, in a way, he was. He'd change that. He'd break her mask._

 _Before he could respond to her introduction, Ain spoke again, "What kind of fruits did you eat?"_

 _Naruto raised an eyebrow at her before grinning at Ace, "Logia." She widened her eyes in surprise, Naruto gave himself points for getting another emotion out of her, before the area was washed with mind boggling heat. Sparks started to dance across the floor before his body erupted with electricity and flowed into the sky. The electricity continued to come in quicker and quicker bursts until it combined around him, looking very much like a green cloak of flames rippling around him body, the same cloak that appeared on his body before_ _ **.**_ _Similarly to Naruto, Ace's body bursted into red hot flames, running across his entire body and streaming into the air. Flames rippled on top of his body as he pushed his orange hat up with a finger made out of flames._

 _She looked at them in amazement and continued to watch them in awe even as their respective elements died out. Ace looked to Naruto strangely, "That was different. You made your lightning cloak around you."_

 _Naruto grinned at him and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah. When I was running away from Ain," Seeing Ace's confused look, he simply shook his head, indicating 'dont ask' before continuing, "This happened. Pretty cool, right?"_

 _Ace nodded in agreement before looking at Ain, who was struggling to speak, so Ace decided to help her, "What devil fruit did you eat?"_

 _She managed to grasp her calm again as a pink sphere of energy circled her fist, "I ate the_ _ **Modo Modo no Mi**_ _. It lets me return things 12 years to the past. Nothing more, nothing less."_

 _Naruto and Ace looked at her in awe, "That's Amazing!" Naruto spoke in excitement, "What kind of fruit lets you do that?"_

" _It's a Paramecia type," Ain responded. "Although it depletes your stamina rather quickly and I have to touch someone to actually use it...At the moment anyways." She added as an afterthought before continuing, "Like you, I've only had it for a short time. I believe it's been a bit less than two months, so, I haven't perfected it yet, but I do know a lot about devil fruits. You do know Logia types are rare right?"_

 _They nodded and she continued, "What kind of Logia did you eat?"_

" _I ate the_ _ **Mera Mera no Mi.**_ _I'm fire." Ace said before pointing at him, "He ate the_ _ **Sora Sora no Mi**_ _. He's a living storm…Although, we still don't quite understand his fruit...It's really weird."_

 _Ain's eyes glinted in interest before speaking, "What do you mean by weird?"_

" _That's the most interest she showed yet…" Naruto thought to himself, watching the girl carefully._

 _Ace looked at Naruto, and the blonde just shrugged and said, "I don't see a reason not to tell her, besides she said she knows a lot about Devil Fruits, she could help us."_

 _Ace nodded at him and turned towards Ain, "Well. We know that he ate a Logia fruit, but there are two things that are bothering us. First, he's a storm. He can control lightning and the such, but when I attack him...Well, watch." Ace looked at him and Naruto nodded in confirmation. Ace smashed his fist into his stomach, but he just passed right through. That wasn't what he was trying to show and Ain immediately understood. Naruto looked down his body, entranced as if this was the first time he was seeing this, and saw black and gold flames rippling out of his stomach. It reformed his stomach and rippled across his body._

 _Ace pointed at Naruto, "When someone attacks me, I turn into flames. When someone attacks Naruto, he should turn into lightning or wind or black storm clouds, but he doesn't. Instead, he turns into those flames, they don't burn or anything, but that's why I don't really understand what the are. Do you have any idea?"_

 _Ain walked up to him and asked, "Can you bring up the flames again." Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He willed the warmth to come out again and...they did. Those black and gold flames rippled across his body, flames that couldn't do anything. They can't burn, they were simply there to reshape my body. They were...out of place. But, for some reason, they were so important._

 _Ain watched the flames closely, even dragging her hand through his body to get a closer look and feel. She observed him for a few moments before bending down to observe his lower body...Her face was basically face-to-face with his sexual organ._

 _Naruto was a seventeen year old, healthy male so no one could hold it against him as a small blush made its way on his face; he had no doubt that it would look like they were participating in a rather...oral activity. He looked towards Ace, but he was whistling, rather terribly, to the side with an amused smile on his face._

" _Um...Ain, are you done yet?" Naruto spoke, attempting, albeit, failing terribly, to control his embarrassment._

" _Shh," She was making the perfect face of concentration as she coolly responded, "Stop moving or I won't be able to do it properly."_

 _Naruto face turned redder as Ace grabbed his mouth, his cheeks widening from suppressed laughter. As she turned her hand brushed against his most sacred tool and Naruto closed his eyes and chanted in his mind, "Naked old men! Naked old men, naked old men, naked old men, naked old men, naked old men...Banging!"_

 _He sighed in relief, feeling a certain part of him die out, and opened his eyes, only to see Ain staring at him with an entranced look dancing in her eyes. He stood there for a moment, his eyes, rippling with gold and black flames, meeting her beautiful red eyes._

 _Then the moment ended._

 _And he jumped away with a, thankfully, strangled girl-like shriek. Ace couldn't hold it anymore and bursted out into laughter, slamming his fists into the ground as he held his stomach. Tears seemed to be pouring out his eyes while Naruto grew redder and redder before pointing his finger at Ace. Sparks danced across it before the tip of his finger bursted with electricity, a miniature lightning bolt made it across the field and tased Ace in the ass._

 _Naruto glared at him as Ace rubbed his butt in annoyance, stifling his laughter, "Not a word."_

" _There won't be anything coming out or in this mouth," Ace replied, doing his best to hold a professional face, which broke after a few seconds._

 _Naruto was about to jump at him when Ain tapped him on the shoulder. Her head was tilted to the side and, oh god, was that an almost unidentifiable pout in her lips? She spoke, "What's wrong? I wasn't done yet…"_

 _Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he heard Ace slapping the ground, laughing uproariously, "Stop it! Stop it! Oh, God! I'm going to die! Hahahaha!"_

 _The black and gold flames started dancing around his body as he turned around, "Yes...You are going to die today…"_

 _But before he could pounce on Ace, Ain stopped him, again, and spoke, "But I guess it would've been useless even if I observed you for a longer time." That got both Ace's and Naruto's attention as Ain continued, "I don't have a clue about those black and gold flames. In fact, I've never even heard about a case like this." Disappointment danced in her eyes, "I'm sorry," Her eyes sparked with a rare flash of determination, "But I'd like to figure it out!"_

 _Naruto just waved his hand, completely unconcerned, "Don't worry about it! It's a strange ability, I doubt many people could've given me the answer." Seeing that she looked rather disappointed in herself, Naruto continued, "How about this! I won't ask anyone else about my power, I'll wait until you figure it out."_

 _Ain looked at him, bemused, "But don't you want to learn about your power?"_

 _Naruto shrugged before glancing down at the markings running down his arm, "There's a lot of other things I can learn about too. Besides," He grinned at her, "I think you'll find the answer before anyone else."_

 _Ain looked at him for a moment...and then gave him another small smile which shocked him just as much the first time; although, it was gone a second later and then she asked, "What was the second question?"_

 _Ace answered, "This question is more about all Logia fruits in general." Ace looked at him, "Naruto, if you'd be so kind…"_

 _Naruto rolled his eyes, "Hai, Hai." He gripped his fist tightly and slammed it into his left palm, "_ _ **Raiton!**_ _" His right arm glowed an exotic green as it got plated by electricity, "Ain-chan," He called out, "Just watch, you'll understand after."_

 _Red flames rippled across of Ace's body as Naruto held his arms in front of him. He hopped on his toes before dashing forward, his right arm leaving a trail of green energy. He quickly closed the distance between them and slammed his electric fist into Ace's intangible body. His body that was supposed to be intangible, but wasn't. His fist hit solid flesh and Ace was lifted off of his feet, but he flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground._

" _My turn…" Ace said with a grin, flames rippling off of his right fist, and took off in a burst of speed towards him. Naruto willed his body to become intangible, but when Ace's fist slammed into his body...It didn't go through. It hit flesh. Similarly to Ace, he was sent off of his feet and into the air, but he caught himself and landed on the ground._

 _He rubbed his belly, "You hit hard."_

 _Ace smiled, "Same to you." He turned to Ain and told her of their question, "As you can see, we were intangible, but our attacks still hit each other. Why is that? I thought Logias were capable of avoiding all physical attacks?"_

 _Ain hummed in thought before questioning, "Before I answer that, Ace, I have a question. Has Naruto ever hit you with anything besides lightning?" Naruto and Ace looked towards each other, and Ace shrugged._

 _Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Actually, I haven't even tried manipulating anything else. I'm having a hard enough time just using lightning. So, we don't really know."_

 _Ain nodded, "Would you mind trying right now?"_

 _Naruto looked at her for a moment before shrugging, "Sure, why not."_

" _Wait! You've never learned how to use it, right? We can wait a bit. That was a silly question on my part." She stopped when a hand was placed on her shoulder._

 _She turned around to see Ace, he shook his head at her, "Don't worry about that...Naruto isn't your average person. Just watch." Naruto went out of earshot as he made it to the middle of the clearing, his back facing them._

 _He closed his eyes and let out a breath._

 _He inhaled._

" _What is lightning?"_

 _Lightning is powerful, precise. Fast and deadly, using lightning means to never strike the same spot twice. You strike to kill. The thunder doesn't announce where it will attack, but its judgment is absolute, and death always the punishment of he who defies the storm. Lightning is the king of all kings, the one that no one should defy without being prepared to pay the ultimate price. Only those who are ready to be killed should have the right to take a life. Power is the essence of lightning, the sword of heaven._

 _Lightning danced around him in erratic bursts._

" _What is lightning? Lightning is energy."_

 _He exhaled._

 _The lightning disappeared._

 _He inhaled._

" _What is wind?"_

 _Wind is speed, wild and uncontrollable. He who commands the wind must be evasive and unrelenting, and attack all the time. The gust is always blowing, and its constant assault can make even the greatest mountain bow before the skies. The wind will always surprise, and its blows are numerous. He must use its power to continue to strike, until its enemy falls. If it wants to protect himself, the wind avoids and evades, staying untouchable but never backing down, even before stronger than itself. More importantly the wind believes in freedom above all else. It is the lone beast, the one that no one should try to restrain. Only those who are ready to be stripped of their free will should have the right to enslave others. Freedom is the essence of the wind, the state of the skies._

" _What is wind? Wind is freedom."_

 _He exhaled._

 _He opened his eyes, his hands in his pockets as wind swirled around him wildly and quickly like a tornado. He raised his right hand and watched as the wind increased its pace and power, the wind rose up and surrounded him. It took over the field, its power roaring across the entire sky. The wind blowed wildly as Naruto raised his left hand and grasped his right shoulder. His eyes hardened and he willed the winds to surround his right arm._

 _And it did._

 _It focused around his right arm, all of the wind that swirled around him came to his right arm and swirled around it faster and faster until it looked like there was a mini tornado covering his entire arm. The shrill shriek of the wind roared across the clearing and the wind blowed wildly around him._

 _(_ _ **A.N. - Imagine Jin's tornado fist from Yu Yu Hakusho)**_

 _He grinned at Ace, "You ready?"_

 _Ace simply ignited, flames rippling across his body and burning brighter and brighter in an uncontrollable rate. He glanced at Ain, but she was already on the other side of the clearing, watching the scene carefully._

" _Let's show em' what you can do."_

 _Naruto took off in a burst of speed, moving through the air in a wild manner. He disappeared and reappeared all over the place before finally making it in front of ace. Naruto reared his fist back before throwing it forward with all of his might, roaring the name he thought of just a moment before._

" _ **Futon: Shiroima (Wind Release: White Current)!"**_

 _His fist smashed into Ace's stomach._

 _And exploded in that direction in the form of a tornado! A horizontal tornado shredded everything in his fist's direction, tearing through tree after tree. It destroyed the earth where it passed, shredding everything it touched. Finally the wind died down leaving Naruto, who was gaping at the destruction he caused with a single punch._

" _This must be how Ace feels with his Hiken...Awesome…"_

 _Speaking of Ace, "That was...Awesome!" He stood perfectly fine in front of him, his flames returning his body to its normal shape, "You literally threw a tornado out of your fist!" Then he realized it was over and patted his body before grinning, "Looks like I'm just fine too!"_

 _Before Naruto could respond, Ain came over with an awed look on her face, "I keep forgetting how powerful Logia users are...And to think I found two of you in the same place." She gave a shaky laugh, "You two could become terrifying enemies." Shaking her head, she continued, "Anyways, I can answer your second question." Almost immediately, their attention were completely on her, "First of all, let me tell you something. Logia users can be hit by sea stone or by their weaknesses, so saying it's impossible to hit a Logia user is wrong. Devil fruits are really strange objects which is why it's hard to tell how different users could fare against each other. Some fruits that people would say are superior could be defeated by a fruit that is seen as weak. As you can see, Wind didn't affect Ace at all, he was perfectly fine, but Lightning did. Now let me tell you something else, their is a superiority ranking between similar types of devil fruits. For example, between Naruto's lightning and Ace's fire, there's the similarity of heat. Lightning is hotter than fire which is why Naruto can hit you with his lightning. If something is hotter than fire, Ace, then that means they can hit you. Other things that can be factors of this is weight, coldness, hardness, etc."_

 _Ace nodded in understanding, it was rather overwhelming, but he understood it, "Then why can I hit Naruto if he's hotter than me?"_

" _Damn right, I am."_

" _Shut up."_

 _Ain interrupted them before they could continue, "The next thing you should know is that most devil fruits have something you could call a 'weakness'. Now, in Naruto's case, he is a storm. The combination of wind, lightning, rain, etc, which means he can be hit by anything that is strong against any of the elements in a storm. In this case it is wind. Ace, you probably noticed when Naruto started using his wind that your flames started getting brighter, stronger, and bigger. This is because wind makes fire stronger. If wind were to fight fire, wind would lose because it is strengthening fire. That's why you can hit Naruto because wind is weak to fire. Since he is a storm, he is always wind. That means you'll always be able to hit him. On the other hand, Naruto, you can only hit Ace when you're using lightning. That's why you both are capable of hitting each other, I would keep this in mind if I were you. It's good to know your weaknesses…"_

 _ **(A.N. - Incorporated the element cycle from the Naruto World.)**_

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Flashback Over**

"Good morning, Ain!" Ace chirped happily, successfully knocking Naruto out of his thoughts, "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Do you realize what time it is?"

Her voice was calm, collected, without any sign of emotion or hesitance. A few words carried more power than most people had in their bodies. She had the perfect mask, for there was no way that was her true face, and that is why Ace wants her in his crew. Of course, he still didn't ask her yet...

Ace glanced at Naruto who shrugged in response, "Sevenish?"

Ace nodded and turned to Ain, "It is Sevenish. You woke up pretty early today!"

He _thought_ he saw her eyebrow twitch slightly, almost unnoticeably, but it was over as fast as it started, leaving only the imagination of what could've possibly happened in that brief moment.

But whatever sort of annoyance that took over her a few moments ago vanished, replaced by the mask once more, "Do you know why I woke up early?"

"Because the love you have for me was burning ever-so-bright last night so you couldn't just _wait_ to see me and woke up early to tell me that you love me." Naruto responded, his eyes eagerly waiting for her love confession.

Ace chuckled, this time clearly seeing her eyebrow twitching and watched as a pink hue started to appear and disappear around his body. She attempted to maintain her calm as Naruto spoke, but he seemed to have a way to get under her skin. Naruto landed the finishing blow, "But you don't have to tell me, really it's fine. I could hear your screams of adoration from the village...Although, you should've been a bit considerate to the other people residing in the village. You probably woke them all up."

Ace shook his head in a disappointed fashion and watched as Ain glared at them, her mask slowly crumbling as she spoke coldly, a trembling in her voice telling him that she was barely restraining herself from screaming her head off, "No! You _idiots!_ **You** ," She pointed at Naruto, "And **you!** " She pointed at Ace and continued coolly, but even though she didn't raise her voice, it was rather terrifying, "You two are absolutely moronic. You woke up the _entire_ village with your fight. The shockwaves had so much force you almost destroyed entire houses! You woke up _everyone,_ and they almost _died_ of fear! And, more importantly, you woke _me_ up!"

Ace looked at Ain, curious as to what she wanted them to say, before speaking, "...Wait, wait, wait...You're more upset with us waking you up rather than waking the whole village up...How selfish."

Naruto let a laugh escape his lips before jumping into the sky, his eyes popping out as a pink hand touched the ground, instantly reverting the ground to 12 years ago. The ground was now uneven, a small part of it lower than the other. Naruto shouted, his eyes wide, "Why are you attacking me? He's the one who said it!"

"Shut up and die, pervert!"

"I told you that was an accident!"

Ace watched this all in amusement, a laugh building up in his throat as Naruto popped from one side of the field to the other, dodging her blows at the last moment. His amusement slowly died out as Ace watched Naruto carefully, looking for any mistakes in his manipulation of his Logia fruit. He nodded in confirmation, Naruto has gotten _much_ stronger these past two weeks. Sure, he wasn't even close to perfecting his fruit, but he was capable of manipulating it as effectively as Ace was. He managed to create a few techniques, most for his lightning manipulation but there was one for the wind. His eyes went to the flash of light and saw Naruto appear on the other side of the field. He was certainly a lot faster now. He was capable of transforming and reforming into his element at will now, and also capable of turning intangible whenever a physical attack hits him. It only took him two weeks to get to that level, which was extremely impressive. The amount of raw potential he had reminded him of his brothers and himself.

Ace looked up at the sun, he supposed there wasn't any reason to stay here anymore. He was going to stay here until Naruto had a good grasp on his fruit and, after two weeks, he finally was. Flames flickered off of his body as his excitement took ahold of him. It was time to leave, it was time to start his journey as a pirate…

It was time to find a reason to exist.

His eyes moved to the laughing blonde, a person who had already managed to become his friend in less than two weeks. How would he respond to knowing the identity of his father? His thoughts moved back to all those times he asked people,

" _If Gol D. Roger had a kid? That little bastard would be killed myself after I torture him a little bit."_

" _He'd be nothing but scum like his father."_

" _He should die a dog's death."_

" _His existence would be meaningless."_

Ace's eyes hardened in rage, a cold anger that consumed his very being. Yes, it wouldn't do to tell Naruto. His mind flashed to Luffy, his happy-go-lucky little brother, and Sabo, his deceased fellow older brother, and a warm smile embraced his lips. Not everyone was like Luffy and Sabo, who could accept him without batting an eye. Brothers so amazing, they burned brighter than he did even _after_ Ace consumed the **Mera Mera no Mi**.

He was ripped out of his thoughts as a hand grabbed his shoulder…And threw him flying across the field like a bullet. Ace didn't even manage to let his voice escape his lips before he smashed into Ain, which meant the one who threw him was Naruto. They tumbled across the ground and ended up lying next to each other as laughter echoed across the entire field.

"Ahahahaha! Ace I could've easily kicked your ass right now if I wanted to! And Ain...You can never touch this!" Naruto teased, waving his arms down his body is a sexual fashion.

Their eyebrows twitched simultaneously.

A few moments later found Naruto lying on the ground, a smirk on his face and a bump on his head, while Ace and Ain sat beside him, annoyance flickering in their eyes. They sat like that for a few moments before Ain spoke, "I apologize...For my violent display."

Naruto glanced at the tiny blush that tinted her cheeks red and spoke, "Don't worry about it. I know you're just covering your lust for me with cruelty and violence."

Her eyebrow twitched.

A few moments later found Naruto lying on the floor with a second bump on his head and a satisfied grin on his face. Ain stood beside him, the color on her face, which was either from anger or embarrassment, was rather impressive, while Ace watched the scene in amusement.

Ain coughed in an attempt to regain her composure, which took a bit longer than it usually did, before speaking, her voice calm and emotionless once more, "Anyways. I came here to warn you of something."

Ace glanced upwards, curiosity dancing in his eyes, "Hmm. What is it?"

"You've caused a...huge commotion here. You annihilated a Marine base-"

"Hey! That wasn't me! That was Naruto!" Ace complained, pointing at the blonde beside him.

Naruto glared at him and replied, his voice high and squeaky as he imitated Ace's voice, "I'm your captain, your problems are my problems. We'll figure it out together!"

Ain interrupted their dispute, knowing if she let them go on they would continue forever, although she _was_ curious about what he meant by 'captain'. She continued, "You destroyed half of the village's forest." Ace looked like he wanted to say something, but then he nodded in consent, he _did_ destroy a lot of this area. She continued, "And, finally, you've been waking them up in the middle of the night with screams. They think you're monsters and has requested new Marines to be stationed here and to kill you animals. Luckily, they don't really know how you look like, so if you leave here soon you'll be fine. Hurry, the Marines will be here soon."

Ace took this all in easily and nodded, " _Well, we were going to leave soon anyways, might as well leave being chased by Marines."_ Before he could say anything, he saw Naruto's ear twitch before speaking, "Yeah...They're already here, actually. They're running over to the forest, there's like a hundred of them. Four marine ships has pulled in as well! We should probably leave...Like now."

Ace looked towards Ain and smiled, "Thank you for the information!"

"Thanks, Ain-chan!"

Ain replied, looking oddly excited as she spoke, "I have a suggestion. You can come with me! I doubt you wanted to be chased by Marines so yo-"

She was cut off as Naruto waved her off with an amused smile on his face, "Thank you for the offer, but we were going to be chased by the Marines eventually. Might as well happen in the beginning instead of the end, makes it more interesting that way." He looked into the sky, "We _are_ Pirates after all."

Ace grinned at Naruto, "Couldn't have said it better myself, Vice Captain Fishcake."

"I prefer Maelstrom."

If someone dropped a coin right now, you could probably hear it hit the ground. The wind itself seemed to have stopped, there was no noise _anywhere._ It was absolutely silent like the calm before the storm. Ace looked towards Naruto, but he looked just as confused as he did. He watched as Naruto's face paled a bit as he turned behind him. Ace rose an eyebrow and turned around, immediately understanding what was happening.

It was Ain.

A cold rage burned in her eyes as she stared at the two of them and her hair seemed to swirl angrily behind her. Pink energy appeared and disappeared around her body, swirling forebodingly around her fists as she glared coldly at them. Ace nodded in understanding, this is what Naruto said she looked like when he was kicked in the balls. Thankfully, he wasn't too distracted with his thoughts and managed to catch her next words, "...Pirates? You two are Pirates."

Naruto chirped, "Just starting, but, yeah, we're pirates."

The air seemed to freeze as her eyes stared straight through them, "Why? Why would you ever become pirates. Why would you ever _choose_ to become the scum of the earth."

Why? Ace felt a smile slowly creep on his face, this question brought up pleasant memories of when he lived with Luffy and Sabo. They were asked so many times as to why they would want to be Pirates and not Marines. They were asked that every day.

And his answer never changed once.

"So we can be free."

He saw Naruto glance at him from the corner of his eyes, and saw the approving and impressed glint that danced within those blue orbs. His eyes immediately shot towards Ain, "And we won't let anyone take our freedom away."

Ain's eyes, that were looking towards the ground, shot up and met his. Her red eyes burned with... _righteousness?_ She spoke, "I apologize. But I will not just be taking away your freedom, but your lives as well. I thought we could be friends, I thought that you could join us...But it seems I was wrong."

Ace heard Naruto speak, " _Could_ be friends?" He chuckled, amusement dancing his eyes, "Don't be foolish. We've _been_ friends since you've entered our lives."

He swore he saw a flash of hesitance, pain, remorse, but it was all taken away by that emotionless mask that has been crafted, implemented, and implanted into her personality. Her hands glowed a deep pink, "...I'm sorry." Even her usual emotionless eyes, held more sorrow than he was used to, but they hardened as she whispered, " **Modo Modo Hakudo!"**

Her hands glowed a bright pink and she shot forward, her hands reaching towards Naruto, but missed as he disappeared from sight. Reappearing behind her with the sound of thunder striking, his hand held out as he touched her neck with two fingers," **Raiton: Hyakuman Vari**."

Green electricity shocked her body before disappearing immediately making her seem like she had a seizure, but it only lasted for a single moment before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she crumpled towards the ground. She hit the floor, laying there twitching slightly with smoke coming off of her entire body.

Ace rose an eyebrow at Naruto, "You do know that even if she touched you, it wouldn't affect you. And even if she _could_ touch you, you're _lightning._ You can't run out of lightning, you're always producing it, so it doesn't matter how many times she reverts you twelve years to the past."

Naruto rubbed the back of his sheepishly, "Yeah...I panicked. But I didn't hurt her too badly!"

Ace sighed before smiling slightly, "Doesn't matter! Pick her up and let's go!"

Naruto rose an eyebrow, "She's coming with us?" As he said this, he was picking her up, making it obvious that he was going to bring her even if Ace said not to.

"Of course! She's a part of our crew now!" Ace chirped with a happy grin on his face.

"She seems to hate pirates," Naruto replied, a slightly amused smile on his face.

"She'll be fine. We're friends! All friends start off with shaky starts! None of us really know each other at all, hell, we've only met two weeks ago! This is a start of an adventure! A start where we become the best of friends! A Nakama!" Ace said with a grin as he walked forward with Naruto following, carrying Ain in his arms bridal style.

"Shouldn't you ask her at least?" Naruto tried again, but he should've realized it was futile.

"Good idea!" He spun on the heels of his feet and looked down at Ain, "Would you like to join my pirate crew. We're going to be the best crew out on the sea."

He waited a moment, as if he expected a response, before grinning at Naruto, "She didn't say no! Let's get going!"

Naruto watched him walk away, whistling a happy tune all the while, before bursting out into laughter, "So that's what happened to me, eh." He looked down at Ain, smiling warmly, "Looks like we got caught up with some strange guy…Don't worry though, we'll help you too. I promise."

He walked forward, barely noticing how she snuggled into his chest unconsciously.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Naruto began, "So...How about you let me become Captain?"

Ace didn't even need a second to respond, "Nope."

Naruto pouted, "But...I like being the leader!"

"Too bad."

Naruto sighed, "Fine." His voice lost it's playful attitude as his eyes glinted in a serious fashion, "Anyways, it's been two weeks. We should talk about my conditions of joining your crew."

Ace raised an eyebrow, but motioned for him to continue, "First, if I ever have a chance to learn something about my life, I'm taking it and you won't be able to stop me."

Ace nodded with an easy smile, "That's completely fine."

Naruto continued, raising two fingers, "Second, if you ever join another crew and give up your position as Captain, I'm leaving."

Ace smirked, "I won't be joining any other crews; so, this condition is rather useless, but I accept nonetheless."

Naruto rose a third finger, "Third...You're letting me recruit members from now on!"

Ace protested immediately, "What! Why?"

Naruto deadpanned at him, "You have a certain way of recruiting people that makes them want to kick you in the balls."

Ace paled, "What the hell! Even you?"

Naruto nodded, "Would you like me to give you an example?"

Ace immediately shook his head before responding, aghast, "What do I do?"

"You blackmail people, you don't give anyone a choice...You're pretty much a kidnapper," Naruto replied bluntly, "What am I missing? Oh, you're a smug asshole too."

Ace pouted, "Fine...Any other conditions?"

"I want to kick you in the balls before officially joining your crew!" Naruto replied, a foxy grin on his face.

"Screw off."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

"So...How are we getting out of this one, _Captain_?" Naruto questioned, waving his hand at the purpose of his question. They were at the shore where the four Marines ships were docked. The entire dock were filled with Marines...A lot of Marines. It was impossible to count them all...Since, you know, he actually _had_ a life and he wasn't going to waste it by counting Marines.

Ace looked at him strangely, "I thought you were the one coming up with the plan?"

They continued to walk forward, even after hearing the Marines cock their guns at them. They were walking straight up to them as if they expected the hundreds of Marines to just leave; of course, the Marines didn't.

The Pirate duo were simply walking through them all.

Naruto rose an eyebrow, "You're the captain, aren't you supposed to be the one who develops the plans?"

Ace shrugged, "I don't know. Anyone can make the plan as long as it's a good plan."

Naruto nodded, "I get it. So how about we just kick all of their asses and then get on your ship."

Ace grinned under the shadow produced by his orange hat, "I like that. But one problem."

Naruto glanced at him, "Yeah?"

"We can't all fit in my ship." Ace pointed at his boat on the shore, "I have a dingey...It could barely fit me."

Naruto deadpanned, "You're not striking me as a very good Pirate."

"Since when are Pirates good?"

"Touché. Let's just take one of theirs then?" Naruto responded lazily, his head nodding at the ship they were walking towards.

Ace nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Naruto continued, "You secure the ship and I'll play with the guys out here."

Ace complained, a frown taking place on his place, "What? No fair! I want to fight too!"

Naruto grinned, "Too bad! I called them first!"

Ace crossed his arms, "I'm fighting too."

Sighing in annoyance, Naruto relented, "Fine. Whoever finishes first can secure the ship."

"Stop moving and surrender!" Their eyes turned towards the Marine who called them out; he was in the middle of all the Marines, "Put down the girl and surrender."

"Surrender?" Naruto laughed, "You obviously don't know what a pirate is about." He looked towards the sky thoughtfully before humming to himself, "I suppose I don't really know either." A fox-like smirk slowly made its way onto his face as he brought his gaze back down at the marines, "Which is why I'll just carve my own definition of what a Pirate is!"

Naruto threw Ain high into the air before dashing forward, "Let's separate."

The Marines gawked at the audacious move of the blonde...Who the hell throws girls in the air like that? Meanwhile, Ace simply smirked, "She's going to kill you if she realises what you just did, you know."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her!" Naruto replied cheekily as he started taking down Marine after Marine.

Naruto tilted his head a hair's length to the right just before a sword cut where he was just positioned and immediately jabbed his elbow into the man's side, sending him flying with a strangled scream. Hopping into the air as two men attempted to decapitate his body, not that it would work, he gripped their heads with his hands and slamming them into the ground. He heard footsteps approaching him, five or six men were surrounding him with their swords about to be swung down, but Naruto simply sighed in boredom. He spun his hands on the men's head and windmilled kicked every man around him, sending them flying away.

He held his hands out and caught Ain with his arms before immediately tossing her back into the air, ignoring the disbelief from the other Marines.

Naruto groaned in annoyance, "This is _so_ boring. Why are you guys so weak?" He placed his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the mass group of people he defeated with ease. At least thirty people laid around him and he rolled his eyes, "Capture me my ass."

He heard the sound of guns cocking and raised his head in interest. Marines surrounded him from every side, their guns cocked and ready to fire. He saw the captain bring his hand down and bullets made its way towards him. The Marines cheered as his body was filled with holes, glad that the monster who could take down a hundred Marines without breaking a sweat was finally dead.

He almost let out a laugh as their eyes widened in terror and stumbled backwards as his body reformed, looking as if nothing has happened to it. He supposed he shouldn't be shocked, devil fruits _are_ rare in the East Blue, not like in the Grand Line...Which is where they were heading next.

"Those who shoot," Naruto brought his fingers up, "Must be prepared to get SHOT!" Their eyes closed in fear...Only to open again as they heard the blonde sigh, "I forgot...I don't have a gun attack. Damn it! That would've been so badass. Oh, well. I'll just blow them away."

He rose his palm into the sky and wind began to dance around it before slamming it into the ground, " **Futon: Seikara (Wind Release: Gale Palm)!** "Almost immediately, a gust of wind bursted around his palm and out towards the Marines surrounding him. They weren't strong enough to put up a guard strong enough to withstand the powerful gusts and were immediately blown into the sky.

Naruto held out his arms once again and caught Ain softly in his arms, tucking a stray hair that fell on her forehead behind her ear while he looked down at her to check if she was hurt or not. Sighing in relief, he looked around him and noted that all the Marines he was in charge of were taken care of and there was no one else to deal with. Seeing this, he looked towards the port and saw Marines guarding the ships at the shore.

Naruto rolled his eyes, it didn't matter what they did, he would still get through. He closed his eyes and took a breath, holding Ain's body tightly against his chest. Electricity danced off of his body before he opened his eyes, his body bursting into a green aura that rippled off of his body. Before the Marines could even shoot, Naruto was gone. He shot through all of the Marines in his way, sending all of them flying, and reappeared on the top of the boat.

He called back towards Ace, "Don't take too long." He turned to the Marines that remained on the ship, their eyes wide as they gawked at him. A smirk crept on his face as he looked at them, his blue eyes glowing with power, "Well, boys. Shall we dance?"

He blurred out of the way as bullets tore through the air and sped towards him. He easily made it in between four marines, who were in the midst of drawing their blades, while he held Ain tightly in his arms, "I don't even need my arms to deal with you."

All the Marines saw was his leg _flicker_ and then the men surrounding him were sent flying off the ship. His amused blue eyes followed the Marines as they hesitantly took a step backwards, but there was no mercy in those blue eyes. He blurred across the deck, dancing in between bullets and men, easily destroying any figure that dared to stand against. A storm of fists, uncontrollable and deadly.

At least fifty Marines were knocked out within a minute and his cold blue eyes bored down on the rest of their group, "If you hate me," He raised his hand, electricity dancing across his arm, "Hate yourself for making an enemy out of me."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

A blinding flash of light covered the shore, followed by the sound of the sky rumbling. Ace glared at the ship in annoyance, "Damn it, Naruto! Don't destroy the ship!"

He quickly finished the Marine leftovers before jumping into the air, pushing flames out of his feet for a boost, easily making it towards the Ship's deck to where he met the sight of Naruto throwing the bodies of the Marines back onto the island.

"That was boring," Ace complained causing Naruto to grin at him.

"Agreed, but they were just cannon fodder anyways, it'll be more interesting when we fight stronger people." Naruto spoke as he dumped the last body over the ship before looking at Ace questioningly, "We _are_ going to have better fights...right?"

Ace simply smirked, "Of course."

"Where to now?"

Ace looked towards the ocean and he felt excitement build up in his body, "We're going to where every great journey starts...The Grand Line."

"What are we going to do there," Naruto asked, leaning against the ship as he stared at Ace who met his eyes with excitement.

"We're going to shake this entire world."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **And, finally, the third chapter has finished indicating not just the end of the Introduction Arc, but also the start of the New Beginnings Arc! Get pumped, get hyped because it all begins in the next chapter!**

 **Anyways, there's really not much to say this chapter except for the usual! This chapter was necessary even if it was a bit slow, but the plot finally begins next chapter! Look forward to it!**

 **Review, Follow, Favorite! It makes every writer want to pump out another chapter.**

 **And, as usual, we'll have the review breach for the next update in two weeks. If we breach 100 reviews this chapter, the next update will be in two weeks, otherwise it'll take another month or two. We have yet to breach any of the review marks for this story, so let's try to do it with this chapter!**

 **I actually thought of a bootyful idea for a One Piece x Naruto fiction, so there's a possibility of another crossover coming out soon. Anyways,**

 **See you next chapter!**

 **Devil Fruits**

 _Sora Sora no Mi_

 _Raiton (Lightning Release)_

 _First technique ever created by Naruto and is the building block for every technique Naruto has used so far. It can be used for various things such as electricity manipulation, but, most commonly, it is used to plate Naruto's body with electricity to increase his speed, power, and heat held within an attack._

 _Raiton: Vari (Lightning Release: Discharge)_

 _Vari is a technique that sends out various levels of electric charges, capable of a simple taze or as powerful as destroying an entire forest. It can be used by touch or blasts of energy. Naruto used this to knock out Ain and also used this to counter Ace's Kagero._

 _Ration: Hyakuman Vari (Lightning Release: One Million Voltage Discharge)_

 _Raiton: Raiken (Lightning Release: Lightning fist)_

 _Raiken is a technique that seals high voltage energy within Naruto's arm and contains it there. Unlike Ace's Hiken which covers a huge distance, Naruto's attack is skinny, as skinny as his arm, and comes out as an extremely powerful lightning bolt with the shape of a fist. While small, it is capable of piercing near anything and one strike is enough to kill any opponent through the destruction of their nervous system and charge it unleashes within them._

 _Futon: Shiroima (Wind Release: White Current)_

 _Wind is willed to swirl around Naruto's arm in high speeds, looking like a miniature twister. When Naruto releases it, it shreds everything in its past and is capable of destroying even the ground in the form of a horizontal twister._

 _Futon: Seikara (Wind Release: Gale Palm)_

 _Releases a powerful gust of wind that blows away everything that gets hit by the blast. Naruto was seen using this by slamming it into the ground and releasing a circular gust around him, successfully blowing away the Marines surrounding him._

 _See you next time._


	4. Chapter 4: And So It Begins

**I will never state that I am good at updates.**

 **Hey, everyone! It's been a pretty long time since I last updated, 2 or 3 months? I'm not really sure, I'm pretty sure I updated once after the New Year...Anyways, it doesn't really matter.**

 **Missed me?**

 **Take note: I did say I was betting against myself on whether I would finish this story or not~**

 **Nonetheless, I've recently finished a lot of college crap, so I'll be able to write a lot more whenever I get in the mood.**

 **To be completely honest, I had most of this chapter done a while ago. I just never got around to finishing it and after watching the trailer for "One Piece: Film Gold" I felt the hype come back for this story.**

 **My hype anyways~**

 **Anyways, let's talk about the story.**

 **Once more I suggest reading these notes instead of just skipping straight to the chapter! Desserts for last, y'know!**

 _Ain_

 **Yes, Ain is a real character! She's from the movie Film Z and is technically canon since Oda stated that Zephyr and his entire crew's story is canon (Including his arm getting cut off and his crew's destruction) of course the rest of the movie isn't canon, but it's interesting nonetheless.**

 _Characters_

 **All characters I use in this story are characters from canon. I will not use any OCs (At least, I don't think I intend to).**

 _Characters +1_

 **Honestly, the revelation of who Pudding was in the manga annoyed me. I thought Pudding was the three-eyed girl, but fuck. Looks like it isn't. Maaaan, I used the name Pudding, and fuck it, I'm not changing it until I'm given the name. Pudding = Three-eyed girl until her name is give. Actually, I might just let the three-eyed girl** _ **be**_ **pudding...I guess we'll see in future chapters.**

 _Timeline_

 **A few of you are confused about the timeline of the story, but don't worry about it. Think of the current chapters as the present and the first chapter as the future. Boom. A lot easier to think about.**

 **Anyways, enough with all of this.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Fallen Prince**

 **Chapter Four**

 _And So It Begins_

She tried.

She truly did.

The simple fact of the matter was that her efforts just weren't enough to repress the sounds invading her ears. Her meditative stance and her calmed breaths did nothing to calm the annoyance that was flickering inside of her; although, she didn't let it show, of course.

She was too good for that. Too smart for that.

Her eyes were closed, embracing the depths of darkness that she seeks comfort from; unfortunately, she could already imagine the _unsightly_ scene before her, a sight she's seen many times before. As the noises invaded her mind once again, she contemplated for what had to be the hundredth time today, to let her annoyance show.

To attack the object of her annoyance.

But she didn't do it for a simple reason.

She'd be killed, " _Not easily."_ She added as an afterthought, to protect her pride from what she just admitted, but it was truth. She would die from the monster hiding within the skin of the human...If that creature could be called a _human_ , much less a _woman._

Yet, even with the annoyance flickering brightly within her, she did not even twitch, she remained unmoving. She crossed her luscious, creamy, legs over one another, getting into a more comfortable position as she sat upon her throne.

Her ears didn't twitch even as the sounds worsened, the clear _crunching_ sounds contaminating her ears like a virus until her mind couldn't think of a thought besides that of the cause of her irritation.

She briefly wondered what was worse, the sound or the horrific smell that came with it? Her mind was quickly made up as the noises continued, crossing her arms under her sizeable bust, not caring how they bounced from that simple movement, to hide her annoyance.

She sighed mentally; technically, she wouldn't attack the beast before her, not just because she was stronger, but also because that _beast…_

"Charlotte."

Was her captain.

Charlotte's three scarlet eyes opened at her name being called, and, even with her ability to stay calm under distress, she couldn't help but furrow her brow at the sight before her; unknowingly making her look as adorable as she was beautiful.

As Charlotte said before, she was reluctant to call the _beast_ in front of her a woman, but, genetically, she had to admit that her captain, the cause of her annoyance, was a _woman._ She was _huge_ and that was an understatement. Take every example of an obese woman and put them together...You still wouldn't be close enough to describe the size of the creature in front of her.

She had to be _at least_ half the size of a giant, but she clearly outclassed them horizontally...aka, she's _obese_ (Understatement of the Century). She wore a pink dress with dark red dots covered over it and had high heels placed on her feet. Charlotte raised an eyebrow, if those heels could hold up her Captain's weight then they should throw away cannons, they could slaughter all their enemies by throwing those damn _shoes_ at them.

She rolled her eyes mentally and hid the disgust that grew stronger and stronger with every inch that she took in observing her captain. Charlotte's three eyes followed her captain's body upwards, heading towards the most _disturbing_ piece of the beast in front of her.

Her head.

She resisted the frown and the urge to look away as her eyes landed on her captain's _biggest_ feature...literally. Her head was the biggest part of her body, easily overshadowing the rest of her unique features. If the rest of her body was that of a giant then her head had to be even _greater_ than that. A huge grin laid on her face and her eyes bulged out as she looked down at her. Her captain's curly hair jutted out wildly, a strand reaching her long, beak, nose.

The most disgusting part of all of this, and also the source of her irritation, never stopped and she couldn't help, but have her three eyes follow her Captain's motions. They followed her hand, disgustingly slimy and sticky, as it jammed into a _huge_ bag of candy before pulling out, bringing it towards her mouth and throwing it in.

Charlotte held back her cringe as the horrific sounds of _munching_ echoed throughout the entirety of the hideout! The _entire_ hideout! She wasn't spicing it up to increase her irritation, she was dead serious. It didn't matter where she went in the hideout, those monstrous jaws would follow her everywhere. It wasn't just her either, everyone in the crew could hear the sounds, but no one dared to comment on it.

They didn't want to die.

She swallowed her disgust as she watched the deadly drops of drool slip out from her mouth and onto the ground, easily eating holes into the ground with its acidic nature.

Charlotte got into a more comfortable position, uncrossing and crossing her legs once more to hide her discomfort at the situation. Her eyes turned away from her captain, turning to look at the glass that laid beside her. She took in her reflection and could only sigh in relief that she didn't _look_ like that, even when being related to the monster before her.

Charlotte had soft light brown hair that flowed down her back and shoulders with a single wavy ponytail reaching her curvaceous hips. She had a beautiful face, anyone could see that just from looking at her; it was similar to that of a princess whom carried the grace of a goddess. A single smile could melt the hearts of both men and women alike. Her skin was smooth and creamy white, looking like someone out of a dream.

Her body could be described in two words: slender and curvaceous. She had a body that would bring men down to their knees, a body that men would cut off a single nut just to smell her fart. It wouldn't be a long shot to call her a goddess, in fact, if someone did, there would be a high chance of those words being believed.

Charlotte's outfit consisted of a crimson red dress, reaching mid thigh, with a golden trim around a deep neckline that exposed a large amount of her ample cleavage. A black belt with a yellow ribbon was tied around her waist and she wore black colored stockings with brown boots.

Although, Charlotte's most interesting feature by far were her eyes; she had three scarlet red eyes. Two crimson eyes were placed normally beside each other while the third eye rested upon the center of her forehead, but it simply gave her an exotic beauty that no one could match; although, she couldn't care less what anyone else thought about it.

She didn't care how it looked like, it gave her what she wanted most.

 _Power._

Her crimson red eyes turned towards her Captain before speaking out, her voice as smooth and graceful as she appeared, "Captain Linlin."

Charlotte's crimson eyes followed her Captain's hand as she picked up a man who was too close to her candy to her liking. Her voice sounded out as a growl, an easy contrast to her own flowing voice, "What's this? What's this? An insignificant ant? Why are you so close to my candy?"

Her three eyes glanced at the man who decided to step closer to Captain Linlin than was safe, his outfit showing that he was a member of their crew. Seeing how Charlotte didn't recognize the man, it was easy to say that he was of no importance, simple cannon fodder for the crew. His eyes shivered in fear as he barely managed to yell out, "I-I'm sorry, Big Mom-sama! I didn't mean to get so clo-"

"The ant speaks?" Big Mom spoke mockingly as she brought the ant closer to her face, "Shut up. You've committed a heinous crime against me! You ate my candy." The man looked at Big Mom in disbelief, shock overtaking his horror, but it soon switched as she threw him into the air above her. Big Mom laughed, her voice shaking the ground, ignoring his cries for mercy and denials of the accusation, "But don't worry, I won't stay angry at you...I'll just have to eat the candy that's inside of you."

Before he could even scream, he was already in her mouth, her powerful jaws easily tearing up his body as her acidic saliva turned him into a liquid that flowed down her throat.

Charlotte watched this play out before her, a scene that, unfortunately, happened quite frequently in their crew. Captain Linlin didn't seem to care what she ate as long as it was in her stomach. The crunching grew louder and blood spewed out of Big Mom's mouth, signifying the death of the man, but Charlotte didn't even flinch at the horrific sight before her like the weaklings in the room who screamed and began to run away; dropping the candy that was meant for their captain and sealing their fate as her food.

She didn't flinch and she didn't leave for a single reason: this was what she joined her crew for. Not for the consumption of humans, of course, but to join the crew of the most _powerful_ woman in the world, Big Mom, the Yonko.

Yes, the captain she worked for is one of the most famous pirates in existence, capable of destroying every person that stands in her way. The woman on equal footing with those of legend: Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, Shanks, the Red Haired Pirate, and Kaido, the King of Beasts.

A _woman_ was capable of standing on equal footing with those monsters.

Even in a world as advanced as this, men still see women as _inferior_ and _weak._ Charlotte's hands clenched tightly at the thought of it, and, for the first time today, rage flickered in her eyes. Men who she could kill with _literally_ sending a _glance_ at them, saw the need to _protect_ her just because she was a woman!

She, one of the four _commanders_ of the Big Mom pirates, didn't need protection! She was strong enough to kill anything in her way! She was strong enough to easily destroy any man or woman that _dared_ to look _down_ at her!

Charlotte hated it!

She hated being looked down as a child and, ever since she was kid, she's worked to destroy all perceptions of what a _woman_ was. She strived to create a world that would make women _equal_ to men, to create a world where men would acknowledge that woman _can_ be stronger than men! She wasn't weak, she wasn't fragile-minded, and she most definitely wouldn't be content with a simple life based on social interaction in parties and balls, like many of the other women in the Charlotte Family. She wanted more…and she deserved more. She was the 35th _heir_ to the Charlotte Family and once she obtained the crown, she would make sure all disdaining of females would vanish completely within their family and then move onto the world.

Not only that, but she would become a _Yonko._ She'd become the strongest of _both_ sexes to ever exist in the world! She would prove to men and women alike that women can be _stronger_ than men! Then...Then, she'd find the One Piece.

It was only a matter of time…

Charlotte's eyes turned towards Big Mom as she finished her recent meals. This was the very reason as to why she joined Big Mom. In this world there were only _two_ women that were known to all and were strong enough to cause everyone to fear their power. Boa Hancock, the only woman to ever become a Shichibukai, and Charlotte Linlin, also known as Big Mom and one of the Yonko. Charlotte was but a child when she heard about these two, and she immediately became entranced with their power, with the respect that people bestowed upon them even when being _women._ She strived to be like them, to become as strong as them, and to _surpass_ them and every single sexist ideal that has ever held a woman back.

She'd become the strongest person to ever exist!

Charlotte leaned on her palm as she watched her crew members run away from Big Mom after _attempting_ to attack her and escape...Of course, they failed pitifully, their screams thundering through the air as Big Mom dragged them back towards her while her three eyes watched the sight in disdain.

Well, Charlotte didn't want to become _like_ Big Mom...She simply wanted to gain strength similar to her. She grimaced at the thought of actually becoming like that _beast_...She'd much rather die.

She shook her head out of her thoughts as men ran towards her, managing to escape from Big Mom...For the moment. Charlotte smirked as they caught sight of her, fear etched onto their faces. She was already known as one of the strongest in the entire crew, they feared her for her power, not caring that she was a woman. Of course, maybe that was because they feared for their lives rather than actually respecting her.

Nonetheless, she stared at them, " _I suppose they'd rather die by my hand than get eaten alive."_

Although, they didn't seem to want to die at all judging by how they immediately ran away at catching sight of her, but it was already too late.

It was over within a second.

The moment they turned around to run, her third eye closed before reopening, glowing a deadly red with wisps of energy flowing out of it. Before they could even take another step away from her, beams of crimson energy struck the back of every man in the room simultaneously. They didn't even get a chance to scream, the moment the light hit them, they were turned into _ashes_. There were nothing left of the men who were once in the room and it was left with a sudden silence as only two figures were still alive.

Her third eye lost the glow and she sighed in annoyance, she's been in this room for an _hour_ now.

She wanted to leave.

But Captain Linlin wouldn't simply leave it at that, "Pudding! They were supposed to be my meal for taking my candy! Explain yourself."

Charlotte Pudding's eyebrow twitched at being called by her name...She hated that name. Who would name their daughter after food? And pudding no less! Who would want to be named after a _jiggly_ piece of fat? As such, she went by her family name, Charlotte.

She let out a breath, swallowing her annoyance before speaking, letting her manipulative words do the talking, "Captain Linlin, while I realize they have greatly sinned against you, I also believe that time is of the essence since I know what you called me, one of the _Four Commanders,_ here for wouldn't be for anything less than the most important. To waste time with such things would be a frivolous pursuit especially in the case of a mission of such importance. A mission you have yet to tell me about."

Big Mom was silent for a few moments, her huge eyes staring down at her, seemingly trying to choose a response to what she just said. Charlotte felt a small bead of sweat fall down her neck, while she _was_ related to Big Mom, that wasn't a safe net. All it took was a single mistake and it would be _over_ for her. Of course, it wouldn't be easy. If they fought inside their hideout, there would be nothing left but ashes. While Big Mom _was_ powerful, Charlotte wasn't one of the four commanders by connections.

Her power was the reason for her position.

A few tense moments passed by before horrifying laughter boomed across the room, drool seeping out of Big Mom's mouth in greater degrees as her mouth opened wide, "You've always been quick to read into things and your mouth is as impressive as ever, I do believe I made the correct choice by making you a Commander, but, before we start, please call me Mama. We _are_ Aunt and Niece after all, not to mention, you're a member of my crew."

Charlotte's response was immediate, easily hiding the disgust of such a terrible human being her mother, "I'm flattered, but I'd rather show you the respect you deserve, Captain Linlin. Could we please get on with the mission."

Big Mom's laugh immediately died down and she leveled Charlotte with a serious gaze, her powerful presence bearing down on her and onto the _entire_ building, "You're right, of course. I wouldn't have called you down here if it wasn't of importance. This is a mission I'm entrusting to one of my commanders since I _know_ you won't fail me…"

There was an unsaid warning in those words and Charlotte already knew that failure was not tolerated, it was either succeed or die.

" _Death is not an option, I can only succeed."_

This thought ran through her mind every time a mission came to her; she couldn't die, she _wouldn't_ die. If she died, her wishes, her dreams, they would all die with her. No woman would step up to the plate to fill the void she left.

She was the only one who could play this part. And, as such, she had to be strong, stronger than _anything._

Charlotte nodded, a confident smile slipping upon her face, "Of course. Leave it in my capable hands."

"I'd expect nothing less," Big Mom laughed, her tone less mocking and more...hungry? Before Charlotte could linger on those thoughts, her captain continued, "The mission is rather simple in nature, it's a simple capture mission. Of course, the captive should be _alive,_ we need information."

"Information?" Charlotte questioned, her tone giving off her interest on the situation. The Big Mom pirates had a rather large network, they were capable of gaining information about _anything._ So it's been a very long time since a mission for _information_ has ever been given out.

"Correct. I've recently gained information on a rather troubling situation or, perhaps I should say, _partnership."_ Big Mom continued, her eyes narrowed while her acidic drool poured out at a more frequently rate, signifying her annoyance.

Charlotte's eyes sparked in interest; there was very little that could gain Big Mom's annoyance unless it was a problem that circulated around her food. So, her curiosity was understandable and, as such, questioned, "A partnership? Between who?"

Big Mom growled, "You should know them by their titles, Kaido, my fellow Yonko, and Doflamingo, one of the Seven Shichibukai. They've recently formed a partnership."

Charlotte's eyebrow raised in surprise, that was certainly troubling, but not as much as it was strange. Doflamingo, a pirate certified by the government, and Kaido, one of the strongest Pirates alive, a pirate that only the Admirals could fight and have a chance to live. Why would groups from two different _nations_ form such a partnership? She shrugged, but, in all honestly, it wasn't that strange and she was quick to voice her thoughts, "While I do understand that they are both quite powerful and it is, most certainly, a troubling alliance, partnerships between powerful figures happen all the time. We also have powerful figures aligned to us and not only that, alliances have never bothered us before so what makes this situation so different? Unless..." Charlotte's eyes narrowed, "It's a cover for something else."

Big Mom chuckled darkly, sounding more like growls than anything else, "As sharp as ever, I see. I definitely made the correct choice to make you into my commander, but, nonetheless, you are correct. It's not the Pirates that are troubling me, but the _true_ reason for their alliance, the _shadow_ that hangs from their partnership."

"...And what is this shadow?" Charlotte questioned; her tone respectful as to not displease the woman before her, but also not submissive to show that, while she did respect her, she wouldn't bow her head to _anyone_ , but herself.

"You haven't noticed? I suppose I've never held the meeting on the information I gathered. I was rather," Big Mom reached down and grabbed a cake that somehow managed to fit in her monstrous sized hand before throwing it into her mouth, "Distracted."

She licked her lips, sending the acidic liquid that hung on her lips towards the grounds, eating even more holes into the ground. Charlotte's eyes flickered in annoyance and she quickly questioned her Captain before she could continue her consumption of her food, "What sort of information?"

Big Mom grew silent for a few moments, suddenly creating a pressure of trepidation. Captain Linlin seemed to swirl the words in her mouth, trying to find the most effective way to portray her words, before speaking, "Ever since they struck their partnership two months ago...The Beast Pirates have suddenly had a notably large _increase_ in Devil Fruit users, more specifically, Zoan type Devil Fruits befitting their name as _beasts._ " Big Mom spat the last word with disgust, and Charlotte could barely hold in her giggle at the irony of it all. She thought the beast pirates were _beasts?_ What did that make Big Mom then?

She couldn't linger on her amused thoughts as Big Mom continued, "The timing was _too_ convenient to be left as chance, it would be foolish of us to believe it as such and I haven't come this far to be a _fool._ The increase was only noticed _after_ Doflamingo formed the alliance with Kaido, before that Kaido's army were in the same boat as the rest of us Devil Fruit wise, but now? Now, they easily have the most devil fruit users of us Yonko. That can only mean one thing…"

Charlotte finished, "The true reason of their alliance is for this increase in Kaido's power or, more specifically, the transfer of Devil Fruits...But that's still suspicious." Charlotte's brow furrowed as she continued to voice her thoughts, "If the increase of Devil Fruit users is as notable as you just said then that'd mean that they are transferring not just a _few_ Devil Fruits, but _a lot_ of them. But that's the strangest part in itself, finding Devil Fruits is _rare!_ There's no way to find them without relying on luck or buying them, but no one in this world, not even in the black market, has such a supply of Devil Fruits. Especially, when they are only having an increase in _Zoan_ fruits! How...Are they finding them?"

Big Mom nodded, her eyes narrowed in a rare case of seriousness and her mouth lacking her trademark candy portrayed that this situation was extreme, "That is the reason we need information. Normally, it's impossible to find so many Devil Fruits, and it's even _more_ impossible for it to be of one kind! That is the reason for this mission."

Charlotte nodded and spoke softly, "What does the mission entail…"

Big Mom responded, "Let me first tell you the information we gathered. I've gotten information that stated a _transfer_ between The Beast Pirates and The Donquixote Family is supposed to happen in the East Blue at Star Island."

"The East Blue?" Charlotte exclaimed in surprise, "Why there of all places?" Her surprise was well-warranted, the East Blue wasn't even in the Grand Line and was also known as the _weakest_ sea! Why would two well-known pirates go to such an island?

"I suppose they didn't want to gain the interest of the anyone in the New World or the Grand Line. They probably think it'll be less likely for anyone to figure them out in the weakest sea." Big Mom explained before continuing, "Anyways, I know that both The Donquixote Family and The Beast Pirates are sending two people. You're easily strong enough to take out their subordinates."

Charlotte nodded, "Of course. Ants can't defeat the mountain after all."

Big Mom laughed, sending tremors throughout their entire hideout, "I wouldn't expect any less. I'd like you to leave right away, the exchange will happen at the very least next month. It takes a while to make it back to the four seas."

Charlotte simply left her throne and began to head out towards the alleyway, not giving even a signal that she's heard what Big Mom said.

A smile grew on her face as she headed towards her room to pack her equipment.

" _Why do I feel like something huge is going to happen in a month's time? Oh, well,"_ Charlotte thought, her smile widening, " _It's going to be fun…"_

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Location: East Blue**

Ain was a fool.

She confirmed this for the hundredth time over these two weeks; it was her most common occurring thought, her _second_ source of irritation.

She should've known.

She should've realized it was too good to be true. Coming across not just one, but _two_ Logia users was so rare it could be called a _miracle_ , but, in her case, it was looking more like a nightmare at the moment.

Ain thought she ran into two Logia users who weren't contaminated by the world they lived in, unblemished and easily manipulated to join them, the Neo Marines. They were still in the ground, just waiting for someone to give a helping hand. They've only eaten their devil fruits just a couple weeks before she met them. It should've been _easy_ to convince them to come with her.

Of course, she forgot that the world apparently lived to screw her over.

Not only did they not want to join the Neo Marines, but they were pirates, as well. _Pirates_! She cursed her luck, how could she be such a fool? Of course, two men with such power wouldn't be swayed by the power they possess in their fingertips.

Ain let a sigh come out of her lips; how did it come to this? This was supposed to be an easy exploration mission assigned by Zephyr-sama. A common mission: find out useful information, find Devil Fruits, recruit powerful men, and, most importantly, find the endpoints! The endpoints are the most important piece in Zephyr-sama's plan, a plan to get rid of all the disgusting pirates in the world.

She was supposed to stand side-by-side with Admiral Zephyr as a new world was ushered into place, but instead…

Instead…

"Ain-chan! Ain-chan! I made you some ramen!"

Instead, she was playing "nice" with pirates...

Her eyebrow twitched as she glared upwards at the happy blonde before her, one of the two pirates who captured her. Of course, he was unaware, or perhaps uncaring, of the glare that was being directed towards him. She tried to move her arms only for the now familiar sound of chains clanging against the deck to sound out across the stolen ship.

Yes, she was _chained_ to the deck. She supposed that these idiots were at least smart enough to not let an enemy go around freely unless they wished to get killed; although, this was only to humor her thoughts. She knew she would be nothing more than a fly to them even _if_ she was unchained, but, nonetheless, she wished these sea stone chains weren't on her.

She took her gaze off of the blonde and looked into the sky. It was a bright blue, unclouded with the sun shining brightly down over them...She hated it. It was the very same sky that she had to watch, completely useless, as her comrades were slaughtered one by one, their screams so fearful, but she could do nothing to help them.

She could only stare up at the sky.

A sky that shined brightly, refusing to shed tears or roar in outrage at the slaughter that was occurring under its watch.

That was the sky she was forced to watch.

As the torturous minutes went by as her comrades were slaughtered, as she heard their bodies dropping onto the ground one by one, she learned to hate the sky. It came to represent all the injustice of the world and, as such, came to bear all of her hate.

The memories began to overtake her once more and she withheld the wince; Ain still had nightmares about that day, she still heard their screams every time she was alone and she could see their dead, mangled bodies everytime she closed her eyes. Her eyes began to shut, unwillingly giving in to the darkness of her memories.

Only for noodles to be shoved into her mouth.

"Say ah~"

Her eyes shot open and she spat out the noodles before she could choke, effectively spraying Naruto with broth and noodles, not that he minded. He'd gladly smell like ramen, it was one of the few things she learned about him.

She glared at him as she coughed out the remaining ramen lingering in her mouth before speaking, her voice calm, but the quivering in her voice indicated her anger, "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

Naruto pointed at himself, bewildered, "Me? I was trying to feed you! You looked hungry and ramen is delicious! I made it myself!"

"You could've given me a warning or would you like it if I shoved those noodles down _your_ mouth when you were caught unaware!" Ain replied, her voice louder than before as her mask began to crack, "I repeat: What is wrong with you, you perverted blonde chimp."

Naruto complained, "But I did give you a warning! I said, 'Say ah~' and then put the noodles in your mouth!"

"You're supposed to say it _before_ you shove it in my mouth! Not _after_!" Ain whispered angrily, her eyebrow twitching as she glared into his sheepish eyes, "Apologize!"

Naruto pouted and turned his head to the side before whispering, "...Sorry."

Ain nodded in triumph before commanding, "Now release me or go away."

She realised a moment later that she was actually _amused_ by his actions. By the very person who _kidnapped_ her? What the hell was wrong with her? While he was useful by ridding Ain of her rather dark thoughts, memories that she'd rather not experience while being held hostage by Pirates; so for that, at least, he was useful, if just a tiny bit, but that still didn't make her forget that she was _his_ captive.

"But if I release you, you said you'd castrate us-" Naruto responded before being cut off by her once again.

"I didn't _say_ it, I _promised_ it."

"-And I can't go away because you're hungry!" Naruto finished, purposely ignoring her previous statement; his blue eyes digging into her own as he bent down and offered her the ramen he held in his hands...Obviously not realising that she couldn't grab it due to the fact that she was tied up...By him.

She released a breath of air, " _Why...Did I have to be captured by a idiot on top of being captured?"_

"I'm not hungry."

Ain replied simply as she inwardly praised herself for not snapping yet. The moment she let her emotions take over was the moment they won...She wouldn't let them win. Although, that didn't explain why she was actually _talking_ to him, but that was relatively easy to explain. When she ignored him, he became a chipmunk.

That got wasted and cooked to the point that it started fucking its own tail.

And by that, the author of this story meant that the blonde chipmunk wouldn't stop bothering her until he got a response, he treated it like a game and became a bouncing annoyance, but, through all that, she was proud to say that she never broke her cool...Severely anyhow.

Naruto raised his eyebrows at her, almost as if he was doubting her sanity, "...It's _ramen."_

"Wow." She drawled, "Your ability of speech is _outstanding_ , to think that you were capable of actually deciphering what that bowl of noodles were. How amazing... _Truly_."

He pouted, "That was actually kind of hurtful…"

Ain laughed, although it was easy to tell it wasn't humorous, "Hurtful? You know what hurts? Being _kidnapped_ and having the person who _kidnapped_ you continue to talk to you!" Her eyebrow furrowed in mock thought, "Wait? That's not hurtful. That's _annoying._ Leave me alone."

Naruto frowned, his blue eyes glinting in concern as he looked down at her emotionless red eyes before speaking, "Ain, I'm just trying to help you…"

"Help me?" Ain growled out, "I've never asked for your help. And even if I did," She shook her wrists, signifying the chains that trapped her to the wall, "What part of this is _helping_ me!"

Silence reigned between them for moments on end, the only thing that kept them from complete silence was the howling of the wind as it flowed across them.

Suddenly the wind roared louder, but Naruto's whispered words still managed to reach her clearly, "You didn't need to ask me. We're friends."

And suddenly Ain's rage leaked out, solidifying into three cold words that shook even her _own_ soul. Images of dear friends dying side by side with her, her Captain, her entire life passed her by...And she whispered,

"I. Hate. You."

The wind chose that moment to quiet and they were left in a chilling silence, a rarity even in these past two weeks. Not once has there been more than five seconds before Naruto began talking again, but this time...This time it's been minutes with him staring emotionlessly at her.

Ain embraced the cold feeling inside her and kept her chilling glare on the blonde's form before he began to reach forward with his left hand. She was proud to say that she didn't flinch even when she expected a fist to hit her...But none came.

She stared in confusion as he took off the chains that were wrapped around her arms, keeping only a single chain wrapped around her left leg connected to the wall, before leaving the ramen beside her and walking away, his silent steps making more of an impact than if they shook the ground like a giant.

She stared at his departing form...And suddenly the hole left in her soul from all her dead friends deepened.

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

The next few days passed by in a similar fashion and Naruto couldn't stop his frustration from building; although, he hoped he wasn't showing it. He blew out his lips in annoyance, this day had proceeded the same way as every other day, at least, with Ain anyways, everything else was quite interesting. He was learning something new everyday; in fact, just last week he figured out how hard it was to _try_ to sail a ship with only two people.

Keyword _try._

He tried. He failed.

Naruto pouted slightly; this wasn't just any ship either! It was a Marine ship, a huge ass marine ship loaded to the brink with weapons and, thankfully, food. It would be impossible for two men alone to take care of the entire ship. Of course, his attempt at soothing his pride failed and the pout became more evident on his face.

" _You can't be good at everything,"_ Naruto thought, releasing a sigh as an ocean breeze swept through his long blonde hair. The blonde's pout turned into indignation, after Ace and himself figured out it wasn't possible to sail this ship with two people, Ace came up with a plan and sent him away.

He didn't even tell him what the plan was.

The bastard.

Naruto shook his head roughly, clearing his thoughts and looking out at the endless blue sea. Ain has been the same everyday; ever since she spoke those fated words, she wouldn't speak a word to him and he couldn't figure out if he was either angry at her or respecting her wishes when he stopped trying to talk to her. Instead, he quietly left food beside her everyday and waited for her to spark up a conversation, but that still didn't help him from missing her company.

He liked talking to her, it was fun.

He released a heavy sigh...It's not like he could blame her though. Afterall, technically, they _did_ kidnap her. No matter how many times Ace tried to deny that statement, claiming "I asked her and she said yes" wouldn't make it true...Of course, getting that through Ace's head wasn't possible. Ace was as stubborn as, well, the blonde, himself.

So, yes, he couldn't blame her for hating them.

"Yo!"

He could blame him though.

Naruto sent Ace a dry glare and he responded with a grin, "Glaring at people isn't how you make friends you know~"

Naruto's reply was like a blunt knife, "Kidnapping people isn't how you make friends you know~"

Ace groaned, "You're still going on about that? You were going to bring her with us even if I didn't want her in my Nakama!"

Naruto blinked before beginning slowly, "You have a point there...But that doesn't change the fact that you-"

"We-"

"-Kidnapped her." Naruto glared at him, "I didn't kidnap her! That's all on you!"

Ace sighed, his tone taking on a fake sense of innocence, "Naruto...You have to take responsibility."

Naruto's eye twitched, "Don't say it like that, you ugly bastard!"

"Ugly?" Ace gave an offended huff before waving his hand down his body, "What part of this is ugly?"

"All of it!" Naruto replied bluntly, "You look like an avocado that had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado."

Ace's eyes went hilariously wide before exclaiming, "What the hell does that even look like?"

Naruto was quick to respond, never skipping a beat, "Like you dumbass!"

They glared at each other for a few moments, hostility flowing through the air before they broke out into grins and started laughing uproariously.

Naruto wiped a tear from his face before looking seriously at Ace, trying to regain his composure before speaking, "But in all honesty...We have to do something. Just look at Ain...She's suffering."

They both looked towards the beautiful woman that was chained to the wall, staring blankly into the sky, not moving a single centimeter, leaving not a single sign that she was alive. She looked, she felt, like she was _dead_ , but he could still hear her _calling_ out to somebody for help. It was tearing him apart. The only thing that kept Naruto from rushing to her and spewing out a mix of words was the small movement of her chest as she breathed in and out...That and all the previous times he did that she somehow managed to nail him in the balls.

He winced. It hurt.

"She looks broken…" Naruto whispered, his words carried to Ace despite the roaring of the wind, "But it's not that she broke when she was kidnapped...She was broken even before that...The pieces are slowly falling apart."

Ace didn't make a single motion besides the simple movements of his lips, "What are you going to do about it?"

Naruto froze, those familiar sounding words ringing through his mind once again. What _was_ he going to do? Better yet, why did he even care? She obviously hated him, she said it to his face only once, but that was all it took to hear how painfully _true_ those words were _._

She hated him.

A painful clenching of his heart began to take place at the thought before he frowned slightly. Why should he care that she hated him? He met her less than a month ago! She was sarcastic, quiet, embarrassingly easy to tease, easily flustered, had that stupid mask on whenever they talked that was so hard to crack, she was…

His friend.

He sighed deeply before sending Ace a soft smile, "How do you keep doing that?"

Ace raised an eyebrow, "Do what?"

Naruto blew out of his lips in annoyance before responding, "I swear you're only smart in this situation," Ignoring Ace's protests with a smile on his face that quieted him down, "Thank you. I don't know how, but you always manage to say the words I need to hear."

"My gramps did the same to me, so I'm just leaving some of his knowledge with you…" Ace looked away from the bright smile that was directed towards _him_ , the son of Gol D. Roger, and the slight blush on his face turned massive before shouting in rare case of embarrassment, "Don't look at me like that you bastard! I should let you know that, I don't know what kind of vibes I was sending you, but I _really_ don't swing that way."

Naruto's smile fell and he glared at him, "What the hell! We were having a pretty good friend-to-friend moment going on and you _had_ to ruin it." Naruto paused for a moment before adding, "And I'm not gay dammit!"

"Why did you pause then?"

"I lost my memories, had to check what I felt at the moment just to check. Trust me though I'm as straight as a-"

"Circle!"

"Wrong! I'm as straight as a-"

"Pile of spaghetti?"

"No-"

"The pole a stripper clown dances on?"

"...Isn't that straight?"

"Nope clowns like their poles _curly."_

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Are you done yet?" Not hearing a response, he finished, "I'm as straight as a-"

"RAINBOW! I got it didn't I! I definitely got it!"

"Damn it!" Naruto roared as he glared at Ace, "Are you finished."

Ace pouted before nodding, motioning for Naruto to continue, only for him to shake his head, "You know what? Nevermind!"

Ace protested immediately, "You can't spice it up like that and not tell me! That's like licking the frosting without eating the cake!"

"Screw off. I'm done with you." Naruto said, huffing to the side.

Ace pouted, "But Narutooooo."

Naruto's response was less playful in its structure, "Die."

The wind blew their conversation away, roaring loudly before beginning to circle Ain's body like a layer of protection. Naruto watched her with soft eyes, watching her desolate blank eyes and her lack of will to do _anything_. She was broken. He turned his glowing blue eyes, eyes that were filled with the conviction to do what had to be done, towards Ace, his very first friend, someone that stayed with him even though he had absolutely no memories. Naruto's eyes showed his conviction and as he spoke you could feel the determination dripping off from his words, "There's only one thing we can do."

"Hm," Ace hummed, but Naruto knew he had all of his attention.

Naruto began, his words flowing out of his mouth softly, "The only thing we can do," A gentle smile grew on his face, "Is meld her back in place, bring her into a world that she can look forward to waking up everyday. We'll save her. No matter what."

Naruto looked towards Ain and, suddenly, the distance that seemed so impossible to cross suddenly seemed _possible._ The distance was large and filled with ups and downs with bumps that could compare to the size of mountains, and it will no doubt be an excruciating journey, but, even through all that, he could still see the _paradise_ at the end of it.

All he had to do was move.

A single step was all it took to start this journey, an adventure there was no coming back from, not that he would anyways.

And so, he took that single step.

And watched with a grin on his face as Ace ran forward and talked excitedly to Ain. Naruto watched expectantly, an amused glint dancing in his eyes as Ain picked up the bowl of porridge beside her and promptly threw it at Ace's face.

Naruto let out a genuine laugh, his voice echoing across the entire ship, missing how Ain looked at him with an emotion he wouldn't know how to describe even if he was looking at her and how Ace sent him a mischievous smile before walking towards him.

Naruto didn't see any of this, he simply laughed like it was his _first_ time laughing, and, for all he knew, this _could_ be the first time a genuine laugh escaped his lips.

He smirked at Ace, there were rules when it came to Ain, and he just went against one of them that Naruto, himself, experienced many times before.

Rule #1: Never go near Ain if there is food still beside her unless you want said food sprayed across your entire body.

A smile grew on his lips as he looked up into the hopeful sky.

Things were going to get better.

He just knew it.

He looked down at his feet and observed the foot that was in front of the other.

Afterall, he just took the step forward.

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **Night**

 _(_ _ **A.N. -**_ _Dear all the people who are about to bitch about there being another flashback in this chapter. It's technically a dream. So fuck off. With Love - The Author)_

 _In the future, she hated to admit that she couldn't find that this day was any different than any night that preceded it._

 _The day started the same way, but the nightmare that was the dark made sure to hammer into her mind that there was a cruel difference between this night and any other._

 _Even if the night and sky appeared the same as it flew over her that evening, the darkness that clinged to her soul from that moment onward made sure that she could never 'see' in the same way again._

 _Her view was always obscured, tinges of a wrathful red circling her vision while the rest of the world moved on in the purgatory color of grey._

 _Her thoughts - thoughts of her present state of mind, thoughts of current events revolving around the Pirates who captured her - all disappeared, consumed by the dark embrace of her past._

 _And then her eyes opened to a similar scene, her mind regressing to adapt to the situation she was currently in and unconsciously furthering her pain; increasing the impact of her memories, reliving the nightmare as if it was the first time she was witnessing it._

 _It was repetitious, unending._

 _But she couldn't find her way out._

 _She didn't want to find the way out._

" _Ain-chan! Get up ye brat! I don't give a damn that you're twelve, it's 1:30 in the afternoon!"_

 _She moaned softly, "Muu…"_

 _A single innocent red eye opening up to look up at her captain before immediately closing it, embracing the comforting nature of the dark so she could rest for just a few more moments...Minutes...Okay, hours._

" _You asked for it, damn it!"_

 _The lights were turned on, curtains pushed aside, and, even with her eyes closed, the brightness still disturbed her sleep._

 _Ain groaned, "Close it! Close it! I'll be up in a few…" She buried her head under her pillow, her eyes closing, her soft voice whispering out, "Hours."_

 _She could almost feel her Captain's eyebrow twitching._

" _If you're not out of bed in three minutes, you won't just go without breakfast, but also you won't be able to take part in training and, more importantly, go on that mission you've been dying to go on…" He mumbled, "And talking my ear off as a result."_

 _She shot out of bed immediately, a shining grin on her face as her eyes twinkled, exhaustion disappearing so quickly that he almost believed she was faking the entire situation just to hear those words uttered out of his mouth. Ain smiled so brightly that it was almost hard to look at, it didn't help that enthusiastic words were already flowing through her mouth so quickly that her captain could barely follow, "Does that mean that I can go! You promise! You can't take it back now! Whoooo! I'm going! Yeah! Thanks, Z-Sensei!"_

 _The now named Captain Z simply watched her move with a raised eyebrow, wondering about her excitement before a grin split across his face and burly laughter roared across the rather pleasant looking room, "Bwarhaha! We'll see! We'll see! If only all of my crew had such excitement in face of a mission! They could learn a lot from you!"_

 _She beamed up at him as he rustled her hair with his hand, "So...I can go right!"_

" _I suppose…" Zephyr spoke before adding, "On one condition. I'll let you come if, and only if, you're completely ready in a half hour, cleaned your bed and all, and report to the dining hall for breakfast! If you can't do that all within a half hour you're not allowed to go!"_

 _He didn't realize that he was talking to a dust cloud the girl left as she zipped out of the room just a few moments before._

 _Her long blue hair flowed through the air behind her, a happy smile on her face as she breathed in the cold ocean breeze, inhaling the scent and saving it to her memories._

 _Ain's Crimson eyes sparkled as she turned around and looked at the departing form of the Marine HQ, the first time she's seen this since she was first brought here by Z-sensei!_

 _Her body trembled with excitement, but who could blame her for it? This was the first time she was allowed on a trip like this! It was the very first mission she was allowed to go on! They always said she was 'Too young' or 'You're just not ready yet' or even worse 'You're just a girl.'_

 _She let her triumphant grin show freely on her face, having no reason to contain her joy. She showed them! She showed them all! Who cares if you're a girl or a boy, none of that matters!_

" _All that matters is the amount of ass you can kick!" Ain roared before squeaking when someone swatted the back of her head._

" _Children shouldn't swear like that, baka."_

 _She pouted, turning her head around to see the offender only to see a large poof of pink hair. Ain scoffed, "Binz! Stop talking like you're an adult." She patted the top of his head, "You're even shorter than I am~"_

 _A dust of red covered Benz's cheeks, easily contrasting against his white and blue sailor outfit, also known as the normal outfit for a Marine, as she pointed out the admittedly touchy subject of his height._

 _He protested almost immediately, "I-I'm not that short! You're only a few inches taller than me!"_

" _Those few inches make the complete difference between the two of us! It makes you the youngest on the crew!" Ain put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, a twinkle in her eyes, "Which means you have to call me Senpai~"_

 _He looked at her blankly, "I'm older than you."_

" _I'm older than you in height."_

" _That doesn't even make sense!"_

" _Don't talk to your Senpai like that!"_

 _He stomped his foot into the ground, furthering the image of a child throwing a tantrum, before yelling, "Bullshit!"_

 _And was promptly hit on the back of his head._

" _A Marine, much less a child at that, shouldn't have such a dirty mouth!"_

" _But Z-sensei! Ain di-"_

" _No excuses!"_

 _Ain smiled and walked behind Z-Sensei as he scolded Binz, sticking out her tongue playfully at Binz - Furthering his annoyance - before walking off with her smile facing the sky._

 _A hand grabbed her shoulder._

 _Her smile fell off._

" _Where do you think you're going, missy?"_

" _...Ah, damn."_

" _This is your fault."_

 _Ain pouted as she mopped the floor, glaring at the pink head as she tried to clean a suspiciously dirty floor._

 _Ain replied, her voice indignant, "How is it my fault?"_

" _You made me swear."_

" _I didn't do anything, you made the decision to swear and at a bad time as well." She shook her head, faking disappointment, "Such a childish mistake."_

" _Oh, shut up!"_

 _She laughed before squealing in success as she finally cleaned the dirtiest spot on the floor._

" _Not only did you make me swear, but you taught me how to swear." Binz continued, pointing his finger at her._

" _Actually, Z-sensei taught us how to swear by swearing in front of us. I tried it out and you heard me so really all the blame lies with Z-sensei so blame him!"_

" _That's the kind of heartfelt apology I was hoping to hear when coming to check on ya kids." A sarcastic voice echoed throughout the cabin and Ain immediately froze before giggling nervously._

" _...Hey, Z-sensei."_

" _Just keep mopping."_

 _And the sounds of mopping went on for ages with the occasional swear coursing through the air._

 _The memories passed by in a flash, but there was one thing that stayed the same throughout the entirety of her past: the warm smile adorning her face as she talked to her crew, her friends, and her sensei!_

" _Ain!"_

 _Her eyes burned._

" _Ain~"_

 _And her vision began to blur._

" _Ain!"_

 _She felt a tear stream down her cheek...They were all calling her with such warmth, friendliness._

 _But all that warmth, all that happiness, it would all disappear within the week._

 _Forever._

 _The days passed by quickly, light turning to dark and the stars began their reign, glistening over their heads in a spectacular fashion as if it knew what was about to happen and wanted to give them one last look at beauty._

 _But no amount of beauty could tear away the crimson image of blood._

 _Ain didn't know how it happened nor when it happened. It all happened in a flash, without a warning...Without any sign, a monster appeared before her._

 _She stumbled backwards, her footsteps trudging through blood, tears dripping down her face as her voice laid trapped in her throat._

 _Ain looked to the side, a head with a cloud of pink hair laid across the ground, face in a puddle of blood._

" _Binz…"_

 _All around her, no matter where she looked, was blood. Bodies. Friends. Comrades. Family._

 _They were all dead by her feet._

 _Ain heard something crack._

 _She didn't know if that was the body she stepped over or her mind cracking from the scenes she bore witness to._

 _A monster ripping open heads, tearing bodies apart like they were nothing._

 _It was a slaughter._

 _The monster took a step forward, moving too fast for her to even realize and then...All she knew was pain._

 _She fell to the ground, grasping her left leg as pain rippled through her, but, in a way, she felt almost numb. Like this was merely a nightmare that she couldn't wake from, the pain clouded her mind as she held her leg tightly. A huge X shaped cut laid across her leg, blood flowing out of her body like a river that had it's path unblocked._

 _Crimson eyes locked onto her fallen comrades and her lip trembled, "H-how...could this happen."_

 _She couldn't understand._

 _She wouldn't understand._

 _They were all slaughtered as if they were nothing, as if their lives meant nothing. Was life really so...Fragile?_

 _It was over...So quickly._

 _And the monster felt nothing. A smile on its face the whole time._

 _And yet the stars still glistened brightly as if approving of the scene it was looking down on. Rage burned in her eyes, drowning her sadness as she tried to stand up._

 _She'd_ kill _him._

 _She wouldn't let him get away with this._

 _She shoved her hands on the ground and struggled to get up, but her arms gave out and she hit the ground once more._

 _Ain refused to give up though, she kept trying, managing to get both her hands on the ground and raising up her chest._

 _But her legs refused to move._

 _She slumped onto the ground, on to her back, her eyes forced to look into the sky as she sank in a puddle of her own blood._

 _Of her comrades blood._

 _Why?_

 _It was so unfair._

 _Why was this happening? What did they ever do? What was the point in killing? Why were pirates like this? How could they do something so cruel!_

 _ **How could they be such monsters?**_

 _Hot tears streamed down her face as the monster loomed over her. The monster was huge with thick white hair and a gigantic crescent shaped mustache. Scars laid across his left eye, which gleamed in a sadistic nature as he brought down his spear, preparing to end her, but she couldn't even bring herself to close her eyes._

 _If only she closed her eyes._

 _If she did, she wouldn't have to watch as Z-sensei got his arm cut off...To protect her._

 _Z-sensei got hurt to protect her._

 _Because she was weak._

 _Because she was a liability._

 _She didn't know how long she laid there for, how long the shock remained in her system. She remembered screaming, crying, as her mind broke. Her 12 year old body was unable to keep up with the scenes before her and she was placed in a state of lunacy, nothing was capable of bringing her back. It only got worse as she stared at the bodies._

 _At the blood._

 _At Binz._

 _At her comrades, at her families._

 _At Z-sensei._

 _Nothing made sense any more; there was only pain and hysteria._

 _The only words that managed to make its way past her insanity, the words that brought her back to reality if only for a brief moment, the words that were carved in her mind, were uttered as the monster walked away, "You were taken out by me: Edward Weevil! Momma's gonna be so proud of me!"_

 _And so Ain laid there, unable to move even an inch of her body, only capable of looking into the sky as hot tears made its way down her face…_

 _She was weak._

 _She couldn't protect anyone._

 _She was nothing more than trash, a liability._

 _Why was she even alive?_

 _ **She was broken.**_

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

Naruto would _like_ to say that it was some unknown force that brought him onto the deck that night or even that he heard her calling him silently, but even he would call bullshit on himself. In truth, he was simply craving for a bowl of ramen and got out of his bed to fulfill his desire.

Because, seriously, it's _ramen_.

So he left his room in his need to satisfy his monstrous hunger, walking down the hall with a covetously clear goal in mind: to find his poison, his addictive drug; a few steps down he cracked his neck, a pleasant sound ringing out across the entirety of the hall and he let out a relieved sigh before looking down and raising an eyebrow. Naruto didn't realize it before, but he was _moving_.

That wasn't the problem in itself though, it was that he was moving, but his steps didn't carry any sounds through the ship.

His steps were completely silent. Like a ghost.

Naruto shuddered, " _...Creepy."_

He mindlessly walked through the ship, lost in his thoughts and letting his body take control of his movements, and it was _because_ he did this that he got lost.

And it's because he got lost that he was in this situation that he didn't know what to do about.

It took him a while to realize that he was mindlessly staring as he was walking and cursed to himself. He was in a huge circular area with more doors leading to _more_ hallways.

Naruto groaned to himself, " _This isn't the kitchen. Fuck me."_

He blew out of his lips and continued to walk, he'd find his way out soon, this ship might be huge, but you'd have to be stupid if you didn't know that up is the way to go when lost. He never understood why people would say keep going right to get out when you're lost, if you keep going right, you would simply be going in circles! Up is the way to go, he isn't a dumb-ass after all.

Naruto would like to claim that when he said that a half hour ago he was high as a monkey during mating season.

Naruto was at the point of blowing the ship up to get his way out of these hallways when he heard a sound, so small and tiny that he thought it was a figment of his imagination. Naruto frowned, but he didn't move forward, waiting for his ears to pick up the same sound just to make sure.

And it came again, so small and insignificant that it could be mistaken for the slight rustling of the wind, but his gut wouldn't let him believe such a lie. He took those fated steps towards the sound, his smile long gone as he silently moved forward. The sounds got stronger and stronger, but it seemed so…cloudy.

Like it was behind a door.

Naruto blinked in realization as he approached a door; the sounds were coming from there. He reached for the doorknob without hesitation and slowly turned the knob.

His mind froze for a moment, but his body continued to turn the doorknob, mindless of his thoughts as his face slowly drained in color, " _Isn't it usually the guy who goes off by himself who dies first in a ghost movie? He hears a sound that no one else can hear, follows it, unaware of his approaching death, relaxing in the safe blanket he was enveloped in due to the fact that he was alone on a huge ship that no one else could be on...A boat in the middle of the sea where no one could hear my screams."_ Naruto gave a humorless smile, " _GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! Kill me! Don't keep opening the door you damn hand! You only have ONE job and it certainly doesn't involve TWISTING_! _That would hurt like a-God damnit. It's over. Oh, Kami. Why have you forsaken me?"_

Fortunately for Naruto, it, thankfully, didn't make a single noise as the door opened; he was still safe. He wasn't going to be murdered by perverted old man ghost. Of course, the door not making a single noise also made the situation more awkward than it should have been; after all, he did just trespass into someone else's room.

He hesitantly opened his eyes, peeking in and his lips dipped downward into a frown when he saw nothing of value in the room. There was no one in here, it was a completely ordinary room. He took a step forward, his eyes moving towards the bed and realized it was disheveled, like someone has been sleeping in it. He touched it softly, it was warm as well.

His eyes narrowed, " _There's no one in here."_ He froze as the sounds became audible once again and his face paled, " _I-It...REALLY IS A GHOST!"_

He was about to scream for Ace which, thankfully, didn't happen because he noticed something else. A second door. Cerulean blue eyes lit in realization as he looked at the room once more...And realized that this was the room that was given to Ain.

Naruto snapped his fingers as he solved the case, when they first got onto the ship, they instantly thought that this room would be perfect for Ain until she decided to join since it was connected to both the deck and a room. She was able to go outside, enjoying the breeze and viewing the sky, or sleep in her own private bedroom! She was able to move between the two at any time which meant…

Naruto looked towards the second door and put two and two together; the sounds could only be coming from Ain and, with those thoughts in mind, he slowly stepped towards the door, suddenly feeling trepidation for what would happen when he opened it.

He peaked through the small door hole and saw Ain leaning against the wall of the deck and hugging her knees to her chest.

She was crying.

His eyes widened and he stared blankly at her, his subconscious echoing within his mind, " _Cliche...Cliche….Too Cliche. It's gotta be a trap."_

But, of course, he didn't listen to his chanting subconscious, he wouldn't or more like he couldn't. His body froze the moment his eyes laid on her, sadness darkening his deep blue eyes, but not completely overtaking it. He realized immediately that he could only take this situation head on.

Unfortunately for him, his subconscious continued to poison his thoughts, " _It's not like she'll fall in love with me after I make my dashing entrance and hug her and says it's all right. Kuuderes don't do things like that."_

Of course, there was a flaw in Naruto's thoughts. _Dashing_ would not be the correct term for his entrance, it could only be labeled as _moronic._ Naruto should've realized beforehand that he was no good in situations like these, he should've realized that he had no tact or skills when it came to a crying girl.

Naruto had no idea how terrible and clumsy he actually was at situations like these, but you couldn't fault him, he had no memories to remember all the past mistakes and actions he made when approaching similar situations.

This was why he was _so_ surprised when his foot got hooked into a crack, a crack he would've avoided 10/10 times if it wasn't near a crying girl, but, unfortunately for Naruto, he was.

He didn't even get to let out a yelp before his bad luck continued, he tripped, smashing into, and then _through_ , the door before landing on the ground beside Ain; of course, it was also headfirst.

This was his first memory and reminder that he had no tact when it came to a crying woman, he realized this again as he stared at Ain's upside down face as he laid across the deck embarrassingly.

" _This...This is going to be awkward to explain."_

He didn't know what to start with, should he apologize? Should he start explaining? Either of those would've been better than his starting statement, "Your room is a mess y'know."

Ain uncovered her eyes by moving her hands away from her face, her crimson red eyes opening and exemplifying the regal glow they seemed to naturally exude; although, now a depthless void seemed to be more apparent. Pink surrounded her eyes, making it more obvious if the sounds weren't enough to prove that she was, in fact, crying, and, judging by the dry tears on her cheeks, she's been at it for a while as well.

"It won't be the only mess around here if you don't shut your whore mouth."

Naruto quickly figured out that she didn't lose her snarky tongue - actually, it got even worse, she usually didn't swear when she mouthed off; although, he would've laughed at what she said if the situation wasn't so tense - even when crying, but he couldn't help but frown. It was missing the bite he was ever-so familiar with.

"You're crying."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

Her breaths came out in uneven gasps, furthering the already imaginable weak image that she knew without a doubt that she was displaying.

Ain cursed herself, willing her body to stop shuddering, but her actions were futile. She didn't mean to start crying, she _hasn't_ cried since _that_ day.

Why? Why the hell was she being weak now?

To make matters worse, her captor - almost immediately, her thoughts became dirtied, the meek sadness being replaced by a wrathful rage that couldn't be ignored, ignited by the simple thought of his face - came out onto the deck, his eyes no doubt mocking her.

"You're crying."

His voice was soft, uncertain, as if he was unsure if he was saying the right thing, but was there really a right thing to say at this moment? But still, his tone conveyed his concern for her well-being.

And it pissed her off.

A _pirate_ actually _caring_ for someone else's well being. What a joke! Pirates aren't like that! Pirates are despicable scum, they kill for their own materialist gains and care for nothing else in their pursuits. Lives mean nothing to them as long as they achieve their goals, their grey pursuits, their _dreams_!

The heat surged through her, warming up her body until it was nearly unbearable; the tears streamed faster and her emotions remained stormy, furthering her abilities to the maximum. Strength she didn't know she possessed coursed through her, summoned at her call as she jumped towards him. She felt the pull of the handcuffs chained towards her, but she couldn't feel - perhaps due to her current state - the drainage of her strength as it consumed the strength given to her by the _Akuma no Mi_.

Strength that surprised her when she reflected upon this moment hours later poured through her at the thought of something restraining her, restraining _her_ emotions! She heard the wall crack as she continued to move forward, disregarding the strain in her arms and the sea stone consuming her strength. Within the second, the chains were ripped from the wall, tearing off the seastone handcuffs, it's links dangling behind her as she smashed her fist towards the Pirate's body.

Her vision was tinted red, the blonde's body distorting into a shadow as _that_ night replayed before her again and again. The shadow gleamed, covering the deck eerily - just like it was that last night.

But she didn't care.

She didn't care if he was a logia.

She didn't care if her punch would go through his body.

She just wanted to _move!_

 _ **She never wanted to be weak again!**_

And to her utmost surprise, the stumbling, clumsy, rage filled punch hit _flesh_. Her attack actually landed, an attack that _anyone_ should be able to dodge while she was in this state. Surprise flickered in her eyes, but she never looked up at the shadow as her confusion was swept away and consumed by the rage that she was quick to release.

Ain smashed her fists into his body - holding nothing back, her punches like waves crashing into the shore, carrying her every single emotion and all of her strength as the wave crashed into his body - but his body never dispersed into flames, it remained solid the whole time. Enduring the brutal onslaught, enduring all the weight that her fists carried.

Her vision blurred, but this time with _tears._

"Why?"

A fist smashed into his chest, her punches slowly growing slower and slower.

"Why are you still alive!"

Another strike, this time it felt weak, dead, as if she was dying alongside of her emotions.

"WHY DO YOU PIRATES _GET TO EXIST!_

The punches suddenly regained their weight, the strikes resounding over the entire ship.

"... _WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS DEAD_!"

Clumsy hits smashed into his chest as her emotions took her over once more. The shadow was diverging, blurring, slowly becoming bigger as all her hatred configured in a single object!

" **WHY DO THE PIRATES WHO TORE EVERYONE I LOVED AWAY FROM ME GET TO LIVE WHILE EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO SUFFER!"**

She sent her fist flying towards him, carrying the weight of the world, her final thoughts, her final prayers, but, for the first time tonight, it was met with the sound of a thump.

Her crimson eyes widened as the shadows dispersed, revealing a soft palm - the very palm that blocked her punch - that was connected to a cerulean eyed blonde.

Her crimson eyes, for the first time tonight, met his blue eyes, but what she feared - the condescending looks or the pity - wasn't there.

Only warmth.

She didn't know how to explain it, but it was like she was looking at a sun. The shadows within her dispersed and for the first time since that night, the Crimson obscuring her sight vanished - all in face of the warmth found in those eyes.

A palm came to rest on her head and she gasped slightly, warm memories intruding her mind of all the times her _family_ did this to her.

The palm pulled her shocked face into a solid chest and did nothing more, he simply held her there and looked over into the sky, never looking back at her.

If Ain was thinking logically rather than with her emotions, she would've pushed him away immediately before proceeding to rip off his testicles.

But she didn't for one reason: namely, the shock.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, how long the shock remained in her system, but she locked onto his voice as he began to speak, his words slowly bringing her back to reality.

"I don't really know what you've been through, I'm not even sure I can relate…" His blue eyes met her crimson orbs, "But if it can even take a bit of your sadness away. Feel free to hit me. Use me in any way you like. Whether it's through yelling to me, telling me about your past, or even using me as a punching bag. I don't care. I just don't want to see you cry."

The shock never left, her bottom lip trembled as she stared at the literal freak of nature before her. A weak laugh slipped from her mouth unknowingly, " _W-what kind of idiot can say embarrassing things like that with a straight face."_

Suddenly, all her rage disappeared in face of his sincere idiocy. It most certainly wasn't for good, but for today - and only tonight - she'd bury all of her rage.

Just for one night.

Strength made its way to her throat and words slipped out, "...Why? Pirates aren't like that."

He hummed softly, his gaze turning to the full moon that was hanging in the night sky, "I can't really say I know what pirates are; actually, I can't say I know a lot about this world either. It's filled with blanks for me. What's good? What's evil? I can't say - not now anyways - but that's why I'm stepping forward. I _need_ to see this world, I _need_ to know more; what's beyond the horizon, what's at the next island. What's behind that door…" He smiled, "And as this all happens, I'll create my own definitions of this world!"

Ain looked at the blonde pirate in confusion; what exactly did he mean by saying that he didn't know what pirates were? Actually, what was even _stranger_ was that he said that he wanted to know more about the world in general.

Confusion danced in her eyes, something that was picked up by the blonde as he spoke once more, sating her confusion and desire to know more, "I guess I never told you…" Naruto pointed at himself with his thumb, "I have amnesia! I can't remember anything and, despite what you might say, the causes aren't natural." She saw his fists tightened as he whispered, "That I know for sure…"

They stood there in silence for a few moments or, perhaps, it was hours, they couldn't tell, lost in their thoughts as they were. Some time during this period, they sat against the wall, a foot of distance separating their bodies.

"...You lost someone didn't you."

His words made her heart drop suddenly; was he going to ask her about her past? Right when she decided that tonight, and only for tonight, she'd bury her rage.

"I did as well."

Confuse filled eyes looked towards the blonde as he continued, "I can't remember anything about her...Not a single thing. But while memories can get erased, the emotions you've had for them can never disappear." He clutched his heart, "They're always there, a painful reminder for what you lost. And I can tell that I've lost a lot, more than _her_ , more than I could ever _imagine_! These feelings I carry can pledge it to the world...But that isn't what hurts the most, what hurts the most is that I can't _remember_ anyone. I have all these emotions, but no one to place it to and no way to remember why. It's so _frustrating!_ It's like my heart's in someone else's hands, someone who is squeezing harder and harder with every day that passes! Having all these feelings...and no memories to go with it, it hurts more than I could ever imagine."

"There's only one memory that I can recall...A beautiful red haired woman, bathing in a puddle of her own blood. Rain pouring heavily down as countless screams lit the air while I simply stood there, useless, to weak to make a difference. Too weak to do anything." Naruto clenched his fist tightly, looking towards the sky, "That's why I swore I would become the strongest, so I could always protect the people I loved...But as the days passed on it just hurts more and more." A smile fell on his lips, "Lately, though, it's been hurting less and less. I think it's because I have two great friends by my side."

Ain turned away as he sent her a sunny smile, filled with warmth and happiness...And, despite the feelings that were intact with that smile, she was uncomfortable. She was just attacking him, but he wasn't bothered at all. He _still_ smiled at her as if...as if…

"You're the first person I told this to...I hope you can keep a secret~" Ain turned to him, restraining the laugh that tried to appear at his saucy wink and the single finger that was covering her mouth. Of course, she didn't calculate how weak she was at the moment, mentally and physically, and couldn't help but let loose a laugh, filled with all the emotions she was feeling at the moment.

And it was melodious, the sound of angels.

Ain saw the amazement stitched into the blonde's face and spluttered, "W-what?"

His response was immediate, accompanied with a shining grin, "Yup. I like your laugh a thousand times more than when you're crying. Not to mention you have a pretty voice."

"S-shut up."

They sat their for ages, meaningless chatter lighting the air for the first time since the island. They didn't stop, fearing that this would go away once they wake up tomorrow, when they were high on their emotions.

"Thank you, Ain." Naruto started, his eyes facing the moon, turning away from her face.

"Hmm?" Her hum was questioning, her face turning her eyes towards the blonde beside her.

"For being my friend."

It was almost as if those words unlocked her ability to speak about her past, but, perhaps, it was in combination with the blonde revealing his memories or maybe even for the friendship that was ignited once more for this night only.

Whatever it was, she started talking.

Talking and talking until they fell asleep under the light of the stars, dry tears etched on their faces, but both had yet another thing in common.

A tiny smile.

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

His steps were powerful, resounding throughout the entirety of the clearing, carrying a weight that seemed impossible with his slender figure.

Wind flew by him, ruffling his two piece black suit and his shoulder length black hair, as he stared across the clearing. A single arched eyebrow was raised as he observed the destruction that was spread throughout the forest.

" _It seems the World Government wasn't underestimating the case this time…"_

The destruction was large, craters laid all over the place and rows of tree were destroyed by what seemed to be condensed heat. The ground was burned in a great degrees and the nature of the destruction were all related to heat - meaning this was through the use of either bombs or a Devil Fruit.

He immediately crossed off bombs, some of the destruction - a column of trees being destroyed - were too precise to be the work of a bomb meaning this was the work of a Devil Fruit.

Rapid footsteps appeared behind him and he lowered his long black top hat placed on his head so it would obscure his eyes as Hattori - his pigeon - chirped on his head, " _What do you want, what do you want trash?"_

He didn't bother turning around as they saluted his back, "Lucci-sama! I'm glad you're here, we received notice that you'd be arriving soon, but we didn't expect you to arrive so soon! I hope your trip was a pleasant one."

The now named Lucci turned around, a single eye looking out at them and freezing them - countless Marines with a Captain leading them - solid before speaking, his tone emotionless yet his words conveyed his annoyance, "I don't care for small talk. Tell me about the destruction and what caused it."

Lucci sighed mentally, he was only a year into his long-term infiltration plan to discover the weapon that could rival Pluton when he was called on by the Fleet Admiral, himself. It seemed that this mission was of more importance at the moment and he had to take a "vacation" from being a Shipwreck. Supposedly, two weeks ago Dr. Vegapunk detected a strange power from this island that suddenly disappeared a second after it appeared and he was immediately changed missions.

" _The Fleet Admiral sent me to capture the creature that put out such a power…"_

Lucci was ripped from his thoughts as the Captain unfroze before dutifully, and fearfully, responding, "The destruction was caused by two men! A blonde man with strange markings running down his left hand and an orange hat wearing man with black hair. They were frightfully strong. When we went to arrest them, they took us out, and stole a ship before fleeing an-"

"Did you go after them?"

The captain blinked before responding, "No, sir! They were just too strong, it seemed pointless t-"

" _Coward."_ Hattori chirped and before the captain could even blink in confusion, a hole in the shape of a finger appeared on his forehead. He didn't even manage to scream before he fell to the floor limply, dead.

"C-Captain!" The surrounding Marines screamed in shock, their legs shaking in front of the man before him. They were about to go forward to help their captain, however fruitless it might be, but they were stopped when a cold gaze settled on them.

"I dislike cowards. You never stop fighting even when you're hopelessly outmatched. Whether you're a Marine or Pirate, it's the single fact of the world. Never stop fighting." Lucci turned to a marine, "You. Who else is in charge here."

The marine pointed at himself before stuttering, "I-I'm afraid you killed the only c-captain sir."

Lucci smiled in a way that made the young Marine want to piss his pants, his voice sarcastically cold, "Well, Congratulations. You've been promoted."

He waved at the scene behind him, an excited grin on his face, "Now...Tell me about my prey."

 **XxFallen-PrincexX**

 **And the fourth chapter wraps up!**

 **Anyways, this chapter was more of a build up of the plot than anything else, but that's to be expected of the beginning of a new Arc. Continuing on that track, this is the first chapter of the newest Arc: New Beginnings! I'm sure most of you understand the title of the arc, but, if you don't, it'll become clear as the arc continues. I hope you're hyped, it's going to be a long ride and I'm not just talking about the wait between chapters!**

 _Charlotte Pudding_

 **Feminism in One Piece? You high, author? I imagine that most of your reactions are like this in response to Charlotte's character, but I find it interesting to have a character like this. Sure there are women with power in One Piece, but not all of them are powerful like Boa Hancock and Big Mom. You can count the strong women in One Piece on one hand. Also if you look closely, there are examples of sexism in OP. Anyways, I'm a man, I have a dick, but I'm going to have a lot of fun developing her character, especially when she meets Naruto~**

 _Ain_

 **No, Ain won't magically fall in love with Naruto after this chapter. That wouldn't feel real in the slightest, hate doesn't just disappear in a second. Ain was high on her emotions, broken by her memories, the stress played her mind and she opened up ever so slightly, It was simply a start, a push in the right direction. This was in no way development, but it** opened the door **for development.**

 _Edward Weevil_

 **As you all know, Oda said that Z and his crew were canon. Of course, the movie doesn't fall under that regard, but his past does. Z's horrible past and the destruction of the crew. It was said that the man who destroyed his crew became a Shichibukai during the Time-Skip. That gives three options, Law, which I immediately disregarded (I can't see Law doing something like that; although, that might be biased since he's one of my favorite characters), Buggy, disregarded immediately due to his weakness (Crew might be powerful, but it stated that the Pirate did it single-handily), and finally Edward Weevil. I chose Weevil immediately.**

 _The games have begun._

 _Lucci_

 **I hope all of you are as psyched as I am with the introduction of his character. He's such a badass and there is no way I was going to leave him out of this story. More information will be revealed in future chapters, but know that Lucci is in this Arc~**

 _The Crew_

 **I have most of the crew members figured out; although, there might be one more depending on whether Film Gold is badass or not. I** **WILL NOT** **place any of the Strawhats on the crew, all Strawhats will remain with Luffy!**

 **Anyways, be sure to review, favorite, and follow. To be completely honest, I'm sure other authors will agree with me when I say that when people review, when they enjoy the stories you write, it makes us put in more effort to get the chapter out faster! Well, for me, it makes me enjoy writing the chapters, even if I do take a long time to actually update...Sorry, lol.**

 **Also, we hit a milestone! Over 50k! Officially, the longest story I've ever written (Mostly due to me never finishing any of my other stories). Be sure to leave an extra review for that!**

 **I never have time to reread my chapters so I can only hope there aren't too many grammar mistakes. I could always take more time to reread it, but I get bored easily and this chapter would come out months later. Beta Readers are welcome to PM me if they wish to Beta my story!**

 **Well, I'll see you all next time, hopefully it doesn't take nearly as long for me to update next time! Also, be sure to check out my profile since I usually show my update progress on the next chapter!**

 _Next Chapter: Tequila Bridge_


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